Scrapped Scenes for Time Swap
by bandcrazy01
Summary: I wrote a lot of scenes to help me figure out what I wanted to lead up to for Time Swap. Might be a little confusing to read if you haven't read it. Sharing the good ones that I think others might enjoying reading. If you feel inspired by any of them, go ahead and use. Thanks!
1. Amos' Death Scene

**I'm going to start this list of scrapped Time Swap ideas with a bang. I spent the last two years contemplating if I would kill the Chief Lector or not. Then I was debating on if I would have gods do it or Friedrich. I _really_ considered putting this scene into the story, and then having Set pretend to be his host for the rest of the story, but only the readers and a handful of characters would know that it wasn't Amos.**

**For future reference with these scrapped chapters, there may be spelling errors or story inaccuracies in comparison to the actual story. I wrote these usually as a way of pushing me towards what I want the story to lead up to next. I have several of these, but I'm only posting the ones I actually liked and wish I had used. If you feel inspired by any of this, go ahead and use. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Everyone cleared out once they had noticed me body slamming Ash. I took a moment to make sure they were officially gone from here. Turning around, that's when I processed that I am too late.

I didn't care about getting coated in the precious red soaking the floor. If there was a way, I would gladly do whatever I could to give it all back. So many wounds he's bleeding out of, I quickly peeled off my shirt to apply pressure to the wound to his stomach area. He winced in recognition, but I can tell from the look in those brown eyes that he's quickly going.

He already gaged a knife wound to his left lung, he's experienced that kind of pain before. Astarte and Anat had inflicted various spear wounds after Ash inflicted the knife wound, leaving Amos helpless. Slashes to his limbs and back, and Anat had been the kind warrior goddess to pierce his intestines.

I lifted him up somewhat with my right arm, but his head wants to lean back, my left keeping firm pressure on the stomach wound. He looks like he wants to talk, but blood had dribbled out of the corners of his lips instead.

"Don't talk Amos," I softly instructed. "You need all of the energy you have to get passed this, alright?"

That's when his thoughts washed over me, and I had begun crying as I processed it all. He's scared, as he has every right to be. He's worried about his family; will Carter and Sadie be alright with him out of the picture? He knows they cling to him to be a figure to help them get back up, they had lost their parents after all.

Who is going to proceed him as Chief Lector? Sadie is young but she _is_ the third most powerful magician. Kyra is fourth, but she's had more experience within the House of Life that it would probably benefit everyone if she took the cape. Can either of them even carry their duties out, or will Menshikov have to be the one to step forward as the fifth? Amos doesn't think Vika would be a terrible choice either.

What about the asshole Torsten Friedrich? He's hoping I will carry out what he cannot finish. He's managed to attach his nephew to the hawk shabti he had fashioned, but someone needs to get it to Sadie so she can fix her brother. He is _so fucking confident_ that Sadie can do it, that all she needs is the proper tools to work with. He's just glad he was able to make it happen, but it still needs to get to his niece.

_The worst_ is his worry for me. He worries that the progress we've made will just be in vain. That I'll just return to abusing human hosts again rather than trying to get to where I want to be. That I'll just be stuck in my fucking loop of power-hungry dickheads and forever be recognized as a fucking asshole amongst my fellow gods.

I refuse to let him just be another host tossed into the Hall of Judgement to be fucking forgotten. Amos had tried to help, he _wants_ me to be respected as the war god that I am, not an ass. It's been ages since anyone had saw me as such, and I couldn't help but cling to him for it. He made me feel wanted again, _needed_, and I had been too late for him this round.

He's accepting whatever fate he has with the scales. If Ammit is the last thing he sees, he won't be surprised because he believes in his guilt, that he should be punished for letting his brother die. If he's accepted in Aaru, at least it means he's with people he has missed deeply.

My right arm had squeezed his in response to the emotion pouring out of me. "You'll see her, Amos," I struggled to speak. "Don't worry so much about who you're leaving behind, okay? I'll make sure it all goes as smoothly as it can, alright?"

He's trusting me, he sees the tears rushing down my face and he knows I'll make good on my promise. And he's hopeful, he's missed Caroline for too fucking long and has done his best to keep her reputation clean for so many years. The worry is being tucked away, and I'm glad I'm here to make sure that he at least looked forward to death before it hit. To the point that I'm smiling to reflect my joy.

His left hand dug into the inside pocket on the right of his jacket to pull out the hawk shabti, which is unfortunately tainted a bit with the blood pooling everywhere. I gave up on my hold to his wound, putting the shabti to my left on the floor, beyond the pool's reach. I can sense Carter's soul, and I can feel the immense heartache from it as well.

He opened his mouth in an initial attempt to help his breathing, and had coughed up blood to the first exhale in response. Despite that, he kept breathing through his mouth as he summoned the Chief Lector's leopard cape, still coated in mud from when Gaia decided to swallow the First Nome. I gently took this out of his hands as well to sit with Carter's shabti.

Now he's back to worrying about his family, and he knows he'll miss them just as much as he had missed everyone waiting for him in Paradise. Recalling all of the good moments he's had with them, he doesn't want them to know how he died now because he knows it will just hurt more.

"I won't tell them," I reassured. "They'll just want to go after them, and that's not in the least bit smart. You should know, _I'm_ not letting them get off so easily, Amos. They are coming after me, and you should have never been a target."

Another cough forced its way out of him, but he cleared his throat to keep breathing. "It's okay, Set," his voice is so fucking weak, it hurts even more just to hear it.

I licked my lips because they had started to get dry. "You deserve better than this, Kane. I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner, it's literally _all my fault_. I _will_ tie everything up for you, that's the least I can fucking do."

A tear escaped his left eye, feeling the appreciation I have for him being my host. I'm certain he knew, but it's finally hitting him in full force and he's hopeful that I won't give up all of the progress we've managed. I nodded to make sure he knows I mean it.

"Don't think I won't pester you in the afterlife either, Clay Boy. Just because you'll be a ba doesn't mean you're getting away that easily," I teased a little, but I'm most definitely visiting him over our brother.

He laughed a little, which morphed into coughing up more blood. He's looking forward to it as much as I am, and my tears are a tad more joyful now knowing that he would still want me around. Honestly, I really didn't deserve him as a host, but I'll never fucking regret it.

"Thanks," he barely let out, I could have missed it if my attention wasn't totally committed to him. Because shortly after saying this, he had finally left.

My heart physically hurt from it, just as much as it had when I found Nephthys had cheated on me. I don't honestly know if I had screamed from it or not, all I know was I was crying and doing everything I can to release the heartache of it all. I had squeezed his body towards me that it could easily be considered hugging a corpse, but I couldn't give lesser of a damn what anyone else thinks.

I just lost a friend to a group of fuckheads that think he was too weak. They want me to aspire the throne, that's all they ever fucking think about. They don't give two fucks about what I _actually_ want, and that's why Amos meant so much more than they ever fucking will.

They are wrong to see Amos as weak. That kid survived possession, and he had been shooting out flares for everyone the entire time. Despite basically leaving him on the edge of death and mental collapse, he still turned to face me head on. He wasn't fucking pissed about it or anything, just he's annoying forgiving and understanding attitude and wanting to help. _No one_ has wanted to do that for me.

I felt his body dissolve, but I kept my exact position as I continued to sob over the loss. I hardly felt the hand on my right shoulder, but I definitely heard Horus, "Brother, what happened?"

I closed my eyes as the pain surged throughout my entire being. Now it happens, another god sees what I'm trying to do and wants to forgive. Why couldn't it happen so Amos could hear it with his own ears?

"Set?" Horus is getting worried now that I haven't responded as he would have liked.

I took a shaky breath before moving my head slightly, making a few seconds of eye contact with the other god. I fucking couldn't care less what Horus wants, I peered over my shoulder to see the combat magician that had accompanied the Chief Lector up to this point.

He's terrified, something about where we are has him on serious edge. Finding my gaze on him made it worse, and he looks like he knows what I'm about to say. I took a deep breath and tossed the cape at the human in the room, who hardly caught it and took a second to process what he's holding now and his expression is dipping towards denying.

I grabbed the shabti and tucked him into my jacket pocket. Horus exhaled and took a step back as I went to stand from the floor. I took a second to note I'm coated in his blood, and it seems to edge the magician towards crying.

"Give that to Kyra Teal," I ordered, trying to ground my emotions.

He closes his eyes, the sight of all the blood is getting to him as he shakes his head. "I-I can't, I told her I would protect her cousin, damnit!"

I couldn't help but smirk grimly at him. I approached and tapped his right shoulder with my right hand, some of the former Chief Lector's blood stayed on him to the contact. "You're as big of a fool as I am. Starr, you need to protect Kane's interests, that's all that is left now."

"What about Carter?" Horus' voice piped in again, and I grind my teeth out of agitation.

"I promised a friend that I would tie everything up for him," I carefully spoke. "I'll be personally delivering his shabti to his sister. Is that a problem for you?"

Horus lets out a disheartened laugh. "No, you may go."


	2. Kyra's First Impression of Torsten

**This scene I considered putting in to show how Kyra knows Friedrich, add some character development and throw in some foreshadowing. This is five years old, so it's a tad out of place for the story since I changed Torsten's main goal. At first, it was just solely for the position of Chief Lector, and later on he would have his eyes on the throne.**

* * *

-Kyra Teal-

"Sir?" The guard stood in alarm to the Chief Lector's dismissal.

"This requires private ears. Teal will do, thank you for your worry-"

"He was able to threaten Chief Lector Iskandar!" Amos let out a frustrated sigh to the guard's protest. "It took the Kane Squadron to put him here!"

I rolled my eyes as Amos' right eyebrow raised. "Apparently the idea of the _name_ has no substantial meaning, _Kane_." I emphasized his name for the guard to take a hint.

He finally got it, apologizing repeatedly as we left, heading down the hall. "Who are we visiting?" I caved.

Amos hadn't told me anything, mainly wanting me here while he digs for information of Jacobi's and Kwai's release. The guards are a new shift, so they wouldn't know anything.

"Torsten Friedrich," his voice tensed slightly. "Let's just say he's an old friend of Jabari's."

'Old friend' simply sounded like bullshit. However, my cousin was in a simple answer mood today, so I highly doubt he'll tolerate claws in. I made sure my wand was still in the folds of my jacket.

Thick doors with bold hieroglyphs contained a few of the louder prisoners. In my curiosity, I peered into the barred window of one. I jumped to a sickly man licking his lips, grey eyes swiftly taking me in. "What a beauty!"

Amos gripped my left arm to pull me away. "I'm assuming you know him," I spoke strictly.

"No," Amos finally let me go, "but I gathered why he's most likely here."

I think we both silently thanked the concept of doors. And if people like _that_ are in the simple housing, how bad was the guy we're paying a visit? I received my answer quickly.

The complex housing I imagined would have been, well, complex. Rather we entered through a door to be met with a pale blue shield with small pyramids at the corners of the cell to keep it running. Inside happened to be a basic bed, a bowl, and a burnet man with piercing blue eyes.

I stopped as I noticed him sneer, eyes landing immediately on the Chief Lector. "A visit from Jabari's runt?" He stood, only taking a few feet towards the bars. "At least you've noticeably aged. How many years?"

"Almost twenty-one," Amos kept his tone controlled, arms crossed over his chest. "Though if you were allowed out, you'd know best of all how much the times have changed."

"I can tell by you just visiting, Amos," the man chuckled. "This shield is quite powerful, but I can still feel Chaos emanating from you. Yet you stand as a power not to be reckoned with."

I turned to Amos, seeing him freeze for a moment. "You've received more information that I thought would be given."

"Thank Menshikov," Friedrich's eyes took me in now. "Offered refuge on an island so long as I aid in an ambush."

Amos' hands clenched, the man grinned. "You are still easy to read, Amos. What do you fear of me to bring a woman through these halls?"

Oh, how much I wanted to put this man in his place. Amos made a gesture to back off from the shield before I could make a step. His eyes took me in again, amusement written in his expression. "The emerald eyes of a Teal. She's not a sister, is she?"

Amos opened his mouth when he was interrupted. "No, not even your mother had such a small face. A cousin then?"

My eyes widened in utter surprise, earning a glance from Amos and a wild grin from the prisoner. "Are you a half breed as well? Who would your mother be?"

"Friedrich," Amos spat each syllable out to briefly earn his attention. "Did Menshikov-"

"I told him I would rather pull my own eyes from their sockets than agree to anything with a magician of Chaos." Torsten brushed off anything Amos was about to ask. "That's what any _normal_ magician of Ma'at would do. Then again, you never really _were_ normal, were you?"

Amos was visibly fuming now, much to this man's amusement. "I'm sure your father will understand, history has a way of repeating, even when it comes down to betrayal."

"Not when it comes down to possession," I snarled, making sure the edge of truth found its way into this conversation that was practically one-sided.

Amos swallowed for a second as Torsten's eyes returned to me. "You kind of remind me of Jonathan. Hate filled eyes, finding the need to yell for people to hear you. You would be smart to learn a few things from Amos, he keeps his tone collected and people hear him much better than a screaming little girl."

"Enough," Amos gathered a harsher edge, gripping Torsten's attention now. "Do you know anything on Jacobi and Kwai's release?"

Torsten grinned evilly, taking steps closer to only have the bars and shield between them. "He bribed me with shedding of your blood and two of Julius' children, approved by Desjardins himself."

I immediately pulled my bow out of the Duat, notched an arrow with it aimed at this man's head. He just laughed, smile somehow became crueler. "If you had plans to hurt yourself, go for it. You'll lose an eye though, I can guarantee that."

Amos gestured me to lower my weapon, adding to the truth escaping Friedrich's mouth. "However, I ensured he understood the ground between us," Torsten dryly continued. "Your head would be great as a trophy, but I'd still prefer you as a slave."

I really wanted to punch this man for talking down to Amos like this. Amos didn't seem slightly surprised by his tone, though a flicker of annoyance danced across his expression. "To be brutally honest, Friedrich, you're much too big of a moron to be able to contain a beginner statuary magician."

"You've grown now," Torsten pointed out, "your mind has established what has more value than the rest at this point. I'd be able to restrict you now; it would just take extreme measures."

His hands went to the bars, getting his face as close as he can to Amos'. "For example, you care for your little cousin, but you know she can handle herself. Why else would you drag such a delicate human through this pig barn?"

Amos was about to protest. "On the other hand, if you happened to be a father, I'm sure you'd keep them closer than you do her." Torsten mused. "_Do_ you have children?"

I don't know what came over me, but I spoke roughly before Amos could speak. "You shouldn't answer that."

Torsten smirked, "You don't have to, she already did."

Amos isn't a father, just an uncle to Carter and Sadie. Though due to the rabid population growth of Brooklyn, he's been pretty much forced into the patriarch position of the entire Nome. It's changed him, for the better of course because he seems much more understanding towards children.

"Let's go into something a little more interesting," Torsten decided to change the topic as if he was the one in control. "How much do the two of you know about the Teal's ancestry?"

Not blood of the pharaohs, I'll admit I'm pretty glad to be a non-carrier of pure blood. Then I have a bigger obligation to tell the pompous asses to shut the fuck up. Even better, I won't ever worry about possession, but the thought made me sick as I recalled my cousin's traumatized state.

"Nothing?" Torsten mocked sadness in his tone. "I was certain little Nadia would have said _something_ about your other half, Amos."

Amos' eyes narrowed, something I've rarely seen him do. There was only so much anger he could contain, I fear I'm going to be the one to pull him away before he blows something up.

"Nadia and Jonathan are mutts," Torsten jumped into the topic anyways. "Actually, that entire family has been for centuries now, up to the Hebrew that walked through the Red Sea with Moses himself."

"And why do you feel we would be insulted by facts?" Amos snapped, a warning embedded in his tone.

Torsten blinked out of surprise for a second. "Why else would your mother name you after a Hebrew prophet? It was intended to slap your father in the face, as if the scandal behind your conception wasn't enough."

I was a little shocked by the Hebrew blood, but he brought up Amos' birth, and I felt it had to end there. Amos had confusion written clearly in his eyes, Torsten grinning as he loosened his grip on the bars. Maybe if Desjardins hadn't gotten so close to the family it would be okay to state, but not at the current moment. Things had gotten complicated, and Amos may or may not start to doubt several layers of the past if I allowed this bastard to elaborate. "Clearly he doesn't know anything that we came here for." I spoke up harshly, eyes narrowed towards the prisoner.

Torsten laughed, a gleam in his eyes as if he knew why I had stopped him. "I clearly know more than the two of you combined, Teal."

Amos took a step back, loosening the muscles in his face. "You're right; this wasn't worth the time or the annoyance."

"I'm truly sorry that I can't be more of an acceptable host," Torsten's eyes stayed on Amos, "especially with one of the guests being Chief Lector. I hope to make it up in the near future though, would that be alright Amos?"


	3. Chaos Magician in the Thebes Camp

**This is the original couple of scenes I wrote for when Amos is captured and brought to Torsten's camp in Thebes. I kept a lot of details for the story, but there were parts I still loved about this that I did not include. A quick reminder that 'Sebastian Dredger' is the fake name Amos gave himself while he was stuck in the past.**

* * *

-Amos Kane-

"You sure this is the right one?" I could hear them whispering as I attempted to keep myself relaxed despite the ropes and tape and the fact that I'm lying in the back of a cargo van. Which was more difficult than you can imagine, the metal floor was freezing which I noted as a sign of it being morning; it was going to heat up later on during the day.

"Doesn't matter, we just need someone good at statuary," someone replied out of annoyance.

I took a breath out of annoyance as I opened my eyes. Two of the three have been complaining and/or whining about the matter while one sounded as if he'd be willing to pull over and kill the other two for free. It'd didn't deem helpful to my situation unfortunately.

One of them had then cranked their radio up, the floor vibrating with the walls of the back to my further annoyance. Though I know they don't give a damn about me, I just laid there, sighing inwardly as to not at least be able to sleep during the trip.

I couldn't tell you how long I had been awake, but the next thing I knew the back doors swung open. I was immediately yanked out; landing harshly on the hot sand, only somewhat thankful that my head had missed being slammed against the bumper. I closed my eyes to the sun's rays stinging the sky in light, a muffled moan through the tape to connecting with the ground.

"Is this it?" A new voice sounded as I attempted to collect myself again before opening my eyes.

"It's not like we were going to bring the Chief Lector himself," the annoyed one snapped.

I pried my eyes open, dizzily taking in four shadows hovering over me. _Shit, don't pass out_. The back of my head was screaming now, making me aware of the possibility again.

"Bring him inside, Friedrich will decide if you earned your reward," the new voice seemed hesitant as he left.

Wait… I could hear my pulse in my head as my throat tightened. _This can't be happening._ I'd rather storm the First Nome and get trampled on by my own father than see _him_.

Like I had a choice. One gripped my bound feet and started to drag me against the sand. Which hurt considerably, the beads slowly dragged out from under my head, and the sand was scraping my skin raw.

He stopped outside a tent, someone forcing him to stop before going inside himself. Two seconds passed and the guard came out, followed by the towering German who immediately landed his gaze on me. Recognizing our immediate eye contact, he smirked at me as if to state how screwed over I really am.

"I want money," the annoyed one stated firstly, earning Torsten's gaze.

His right eyebrow rose, crossing his arms. "As I'm certain your hostage would like some water, but we don't always receive what we want."

"I bagged him, I want money for it," he pressured on.

Torsten uncrossed his arms, considering the man's words. I almost couldn't process the flash of metal, the man lying to my right with blood pouring out of the deep slash across his face. "Bring him in; I'd like to accommodate my guest."

At Friedrich's request, his guards had unbounded my feet, leaving the tent after situating me on the chair. Torsten waited until the flap of the tent entrance sounded, lifting a glass of water from his table. "I am sorry you witnessed that. You know how I am; I'd prefer someone that can show some respect to their hostages." His eyes locked on mine, evil smile forming on the edges of his mouth.

I mentally screamed to not get very comfortable; though admittedly my body was relieved I was sitting upright for once. He gestured the glass towards me, "Would you like some?"

Yes, but I wasn't going to trust anything he offers. He must have noted my mental answer in my eyes, moving in slowly. Then proceeded to slowly tear the duct tape off, gently tipping the glass. He was deliberately slow on letting the water reach my lips, then quickly lifted the glass before I could take a sip.

My lips were stinging to the water; they must have been pretty dry. Which I noted how thirsty I happen to be, almost wanting to scream at the asshole for teasing me with a necessity. He smirked before chugging the water down himself, setting the glass back on the table. "Here's the deal," I could tell I wasn't going to like it. "If you want water, you need to fight my subordinates. They need practice against a Statuary, and I suspect you're the man for the job. You don't want to die from dehydration, do you?"

I glared at him, seeing what the big deal is now. Preparation for fighting Chief Lector Iskandar. I wasn't going to play his game, no matter what he tries to reward me with. He could read my answer, I made sure of it. "You may just change your mind before nightfall, Kane. I'll be keeping _cold, refreshing_ water in my personal tent. Which happens to be on the other side of the campsite, you'll see it." And with that, he left, purposely 'forgetting' the glass on the table.

Partially relieved, I adjusting my back against the chair to relax my muscles a little more. Hours passed and no one had entered, I had watched the droplets of water left over in the glass evaporate due to the desert heat. _Fuck, he might actually get what he wants._

* * *

-Michel Desjardins-

Thebes, not exactly the first place I would have chosen to camp at when planning an ambush against the Per Ankh. Julius gave a grunt to the sight of the illuminated campground. "You sure they brought him here?"

I wasn't sure, but it didn't matter in the long run. We need to break up this party fast. "I'd assume this is Torsten's party," I put in my side on the matter.

Julius sighed, "So Amos might be here too?"

I didn't know anything anymore. The possibility… Had a future him been switched with him? _Was_ it him? Or did the bastard just know to confuse me by borrowing the kid's shabti?

The questions had apparently not mattered. We both flinched to a burst of red energy in the middle of the camp, disappearing quickly to make me believe I almost imagined it. "What the hell?" Julius hushed to confirm I hadn't hallucinated.

Another second and the energy sparked again. _Chaos_, my eyebrows furrowed to the mere thought. I'd imagine Friedrich finding use for it.

A faint order screamed out, something about restraint that was quickly followed by more of the chaotic energy. Julius pulled his khopesh out before taking a glance my way. "Where do you think you're-"

"Now is better than later," Julius answered immediately. "Because it appears they're having issues containing whatever _that_ is."

Unfortunately the kid was right, I gave a snarl as I extended my staff. "I'll offer a distraction for the sheep. You better make your way to his tent." I motioned towards the bigger tent that happened to separate itself from the rest of the site by higher elevation.

Julius gave a slight look of panic in his eyes before nodding, telling himself he can do it. "I'll be over as soon as I know they won't interfere," I reassured.

He then made his way towards Torsten's tent, using the dune to cover himself until he can get closer. I proceeded to slip quietly down the sandy slope and used the tents to check out the occurrence.

Red sparks fluttered the sky, my hair lifting to electricity as I peered towards the spot. Blue energy was barely formed by the counterattacks before knocked out with either wind or discolored lightening. "Stop him!" One screamed before getting pushed into a tent, having it collapse on top of the poor man.

Then it seemed to quiet down, the sparks died shortly after. A huff of irritation before footsteps sounded. He entered my line of vision finally, the 'spy' we have been tracking for a few days now. I hesitated to take a step forward and peered to where he was roughly standing to find only burnt ruins of metal bars and cloth.

Chaos, not air elementalism. I could feel my heart creeping up my throat as I turned to him again. Red energy in the form of sparks followed him, flickering with his footfalls and clothing. He hadn't noticed me yet; in fact he was clearly heading for Torsten's tent. I probably would have let him, if it wasn't for the fact that I had sent Julius that way as well. By the way this camp looked so far, it didn't appear as if this man wouldn't hesitate to do the same to Julius too.

Confronting him personally would be stupid. I went for stealth, praying I make it to the tent before he does. As I went, it seemed the energy raising my hair with static had died, trusting this meant I was beating him.

Clearly I am still ignorant to Chaos magicians. I froze before officially approaching the tent to see him enter, the sparks long gone. "Ah, and the trainer walks in," that familiar German accent spoke with praise.

I quietly approached the side of the tent, finding a small space at the pole where the cloth revealed the inside. Dredger's glare stayed on the German, clenching and unclenching his fists in second-intervals. As to what was stopping him, Torsten appeared to have Julius hostage, his khopesh at the kid's throat while Julius' own lied on the rotten desk.

"Please, reward yourself!" Torsten gestured towards a barrel of water beside the desk. "Though you hadn't _really_ participated, you still won didn't you?"

The other snarled, quickly sending his red spark at said barrel, allowing it to explode. Julius had been the only one to really respond with a yelp of alarm and flinch, though stood in his position thanks to Friedrich. Torsten just frowned before nodding. "I suppose I hadn't really stated what you could do with your reward. I do apologize for that."

"Enough Friedrich," he finally addressed him, disdain evident. "I've made sure it is just us, so you better pay attention."

"So I heard!" Torsten chuckled to the thought. "I should have known better, you simply reeked of Chaos. Though I will be honest I hadn't really considered you _wielding_ said energy. I suspect that means you're no longer Per Ankh?"

He wasn't amused, his eyes narrowed at his foe. "How did you get here?" His gaze seemed to downcast slightly.

"Oh, Kane?" Torsten smirked. "He seemed to have thought he could catch me off guard. Thing is, I suspected you'd make your way here in the first place, I wasn't surprised by the entry."

My right eyebrow raised as I noted the look in his brown eyes towards Julius, complete disapproval. Labeling him idiotic, wondering how he's even still breathing with such stupidity. I knew that look; it was becoming a daily occurrence. I smirked, answering why he hadn't simply blown up Friedrich once he had entered.

Julius didn't appear to be very concerned over Torsten, his fearful eyes were pinned on the Chaos magician. With our past experience with Chaos, I had not blamed him for it. Which is why I fought myself on my clear conclusion. Amos wouldn't want to touch this form of power.

"You may be dismissed, your services are concluded." Torsten continued on, falsely believing he is in control when clearly the other could kill him in the blink of an eye.

I took a sideward glance to my left, spying a boulder not far off on a higher slope. Noting that said opposition hasn't made a move yet, I figured I'd interfere with Friedrich's show. "I thought you wanted training against statuary," the clearly irritated magician spoke up, raising his head in an attempt to match Torsten's pride. "Not you're camp blown up."

Torsten took the hint, laughing loudly to the thought. "You find yourself worthy of opposing me? You shouldn't act so pompously when you clearly are at a disadvantage. Didn't your father teach you that?"

Finally, the boulder budged to my spells, slowly rolling down the mountainside before picking up speed. I prayed I was correct in my assumption, moving out of the way by several feet. As luck had it, I didn't see a shield in reaction. The boulder collapsed on the tent like a pancake, threatening to roll into the camp next if it wasn't for me stopping it with a quick divine word.

I rushed towards the tent, peering around in horror. To my surprise, there was no blood in the ruins. Despite my slight disappointment of Torsten escaping once more, I was very happy with the fact that the Amos I don't know still had his quick thinking.

* * *

-Amos Kane-

Red had streaked the blurs of the Duat; I immediately feared what had been cut. I couldn't make anything out; I just prayed I managed to grab the right blur as I made our way out, leaving the other.

The first thing I could properly conclude was the fact that I collapsed to my knees on stone flooring. The blurs dissipated into darkness, taking me a moment to finalize that I wasn't actually out cold. I went about pulling my staff out, lighting some space in red to look at the bundle I had escaped with.

For once it had gone down as I had wanted, Julius was heaving for air as his eyes glassed over. I didn't spare myself much time to celebrate, (no really, with how everything has been going down this is quite a success on its own). I quickly went to check his condition, finding he was currently bleeding from a deep slice to his right shoulder. Not knowing what else to do, I carefully went to cauterize it while he was still dazed.

When I had finished covering my work with a clean rag, I stood up and went about taking in our surrounding. By some small chance, I pulled us into a pyramid room, though which one I assumed to be a fake room to trick grave robbers.

I hesitated to leave the room, making sure there wasn't going to be anything Julius could possibly trigger before searching for the exit. The path up was easy to find, the door hadn't been as handy and I wound up blowing it up in my annoyance. Bright light and intense heat immediately poured in, forcing me to block my eyes for a second as I stepped out.

The sun was up; in fact it was heading towards afternoon already. Did I really wrangle with Friedrich in the Duat long enough for almost half a day to go by?

I immediately was shoved to the ground. Immediately I figured Friedrich and shoved the bastard off of me. I sat up as I processed a low moan where he had landed. I turned and winced to a sharp pain in my left wrist to find Julius had been laying only four feet.

I couldn't possibly tell you what overcame me. Perhaps the constant egging on from Set had caused my outrage to quicken towards my brother. "Will you stop being an utter moron for five minutes?" I snapped as I stood up, brushing some sand off of me.

He attempted to sit up to simply collapse to the sand again as he moaned in complaint. I considered leaving him, but I swiftly told myself I can't leave any chance of him dying. Him and Ruby both, Carter and Sadie were depending on it. Actually, I suppose everyone is depending on it.

I paused to note he was going to be a while before attempting anything again. I went about fixing the door during this and turned to find him standing, wand out as he did his best to not act fearful. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked, a little humored by the sight.

"Look" he huffed out, "I'm not really in the mood to fight Set. Really, I'm not."

"That would make two of us," I interrupted whatever else he was going to say. "Though I'd be more than happy to dent his narcissistic face the next time I have to see it."

That confused him; he took a moment to process the info better. "Are you not possessed? I'm pretty sure I didn't hallucinate chaos magic."

I huffed a strand of hair out of my face. "Right, why am I surprised? You never were one to actually _listen_ to anything I tell you, just rely on me to remember it all for you."

His face contorted in confusion before cocking his head slightly, though no question was voiced. "I'm a Setian." I paused to see if anything clicked, which it hadn't. "Willing follower of Set."

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Why would you follow that asshole?"

I shrugged and quickly went to move on, "Look, you're hurt and in need of a healer. I need an audience with the Chief Lector."

He caught on to this rather quickly, snarling at the thought. "Like I'd send an admitted Chaos magician into the Hall of Ages."

My gaze narrowed, quickly stopping whatever else he was going to say. "I could have killed you along with Friedrich. However, I did not, and Torsten is still breathing because of it. _You_ owe me."

Julius considered it a moment before slamming his khopesh into the sand. "Alright, but only as a debt. If I find out you're out to kill Iskandar though," he finished it by swiping the sword out of the ground, forcing a metal ring in the air. "Also, how do you plan to pass my father?"

"That's where you come in," I smirked as he took in the thought.

"_Right_, because he'll shrug off my befriending of a spy," Julius shook his head at the thought as he sheathed his sword.

* * *

-Julius Kane-

After building the fire, he had settled himself only two feet away, pulling a leather-bound book out of nowhere (well I shouldn't say nowhere since it was clearly the Duat). Watching him do this made me miss Amos. This man was so entranced; I was almost compelled to yank it from him. Amos always hated that, and then I would tease him and demand he tell me what he was reading. Unfortunately, most of what he said would slip from me. I bet there was probably an incident where he went rambling about fighting chaos magicians, and I was bored enough to dismiss it. Hours ago, if he had been with me, he would have already captured this guy, and I wouldn't be walking through the desert of Egypt back to Cairo.

I watched as his eyebrows furrowed the more he read on, not shortly before snarling and slamming the book closed. He noted my watching and proceeded to close his eyes, holding the bridge of his nose like he was fighting an incoming headache. I waited to see what he was going to do, but he just sat there like he was pondering something.

"I've found that better lighting helps," I finally spoke up, earning the man's focus on me. "My, uh, brother doesn't think so, but it really does. At least to the point that my brain doesn't strain as much per minute."

He laughed as he lowered his hand back to the book. "That isn't the issue."

I waited to see if he would continue, but he just peered back at me to the point of creepiness. "What is it on? I bet my brother's probably read it. Doesn't really help here, I don't really pay much attention to him rambling."

Dredger cleared his throat, making me stop as he gave me an observant look this time. "I'm not studying a published writing."

"Okay, what is it then?"

He didn't like my prying; his eyes seemed to gain that defensive edge to them. I raised my hands as an attempt to ease him off from jumping to his feet and blowing me up like he had with the barrel yesterday. "Just trying to help."

We went silent again, and his eyes seemed to ease off from possibly killing me. Yet this book seemed to be seriously bothering him, gathering way too much of my interest. I sighed after a while, apparently snapping the chaos magician out of his faze. "Since we're traveling together, might as well get to know each other a little better?" I suggested as the thought approached me.

His eyes narrowed, "I'd rather not."

Oh, so one of those really bottled-up people. Too bad for him, my mother is the same way. "I was hoping to take Friedrich back to Cairo," I continued, despite the roll of the man's eyes. "And hopefully find my brother. Speaking of; did you see him at the camp? He would be a little younger than me-"

"No Julius, I did not see your brother there." He spoke rudely, but I accepted it simply with relief.

His right eyebrow lifted to my reaction, earning a nervous laugh from me. "Uh, kind of hard to explain. Are you sure though?"

"Yes Julius, I'm positive."

I nodded, but the thought of _still_ not knowing where he is nagged at my being. I already failed him once, I can't afford another. "You alright?" Sebastian's voice made me realize my hands started shaking again.

I immediately clasped them together, praying it will stop. "Do you have siblings?"

He nodded, "one older."

"So you wouldn't really understand it." I swallowed as I screamed at myself to stop.

"Hmm, understand what?" He appeared genuinely interested.

I cleared my throat, thinking of how to give him the minimum. "Amos is different, and not just because he's a statuary in what my father thinks is a combat family."

"I'd imagine everyone has their own quirks-" He went about dismissing me.

"No," I snapped in slight irritation, "this isn't even something he had control over. He's never had a chance to change it, not once." I wanted to slap myself for saying this. "My old man thinks he's the spawn of an affair. My mother says otherwise, though apparently she wishes sometimes that he was."

His back straightened, interested now. "Doesn't matter either way, he _is_ my brother. People give me weird looks for hanging around him, but they don't get it. His company is like purified water compared to the nasty mud-water I get from everyone else. I don't have to play a reputation with him, he accepts me no matter what I do. Sure, he disapproves of my stupid antics in Cairo to summon the police out, and sometimes scowls when I playfully flirt with some of the girls. But he knows that isn't me. He knows that when I come home, I can just plop myself on the couch and watch a movie rather than find the nearest gym. The rest of it is an act, and he's pretty much the only one who sees through it."

My hands were shaking badly now, to the point that I promptly pulled them away and went about rubbing them together, hoping that will work. "This work, it's starting to drive me crazy the more I stay in it. It's not even about the missions anymore; it's about what our dad expects from me. And I don't even care about that, why should I when he can't even make himself give a damn about Amos?"

It came back, the flashes of blood intertwined with his cries. I blinked and noted I was crying now. "The only thing that makes sense now is trying to protect him. He's scared, but I noticed I could coax him into hiding it if I tease him and pretend I'm not. But really, I'm scared for all of us. I can't show that though, I'm there to protect him no matter what."

I closed my eyes as the blood-coated khopesh came up as well. "I failed, and not even on a minor scale. His life was spilling through my fingers, and I almost gave up on him. He acts like nothing had happened, but to me it feels like I almost lost everything."

I opened my eyes to find the man I was confessing to handing me a sympathetic look. "I'm ashamed that I had pleaded for Anubis to ease him out of his pain. Even worse that I know I can't protect him, that alone said I can't. But who is going to? I'm just going to fail him again, but I don't see anyone else attempting to take my place."

_It hurts…_ I tried to wash away the memories as I wiped the tears off of my cheeks.

"You should consider having this talk with your brother," Dredger started slowly, his eyes telling me he felt sorry and possibly wanting to say more than he will. "You might be surprised how he'd react."

"Yeah, he'd think I'm joking and just brush it off, go back to his books for the rest of the day." I laughed as I could just see him doing as much.

Dredger shook his head, "No, he wouldn't if you express it the way you just did."

And how would one go about bringing such a topic up? It's a tender topic; Amos thinks I see him as someone bringing the group down. Yet I don't, he helps back me up when I'm being my rash-like self. Michel will support that, he prefers Amos stays around me rather than not.

We had been silent for a few minutes when Dredger cleared his throat. "You want to know more about me? It's kind of a stretch, but you'll have to trust I'm telling the truth."

Hell, I didn't care if it was the world's biggest tall tale at this point, anything to get my mind off of the images making me ill. He sighed as he gazed into the fire for a moment. "I need to see Iskandar because I'm not in the right time-frame. Thoth thinks he's the only one that will help, and this journal is supposed to give me an idea as to who sent me here."

Okay, he was being serious when it came down to believability. "You're from the future?" I wasn't sure about putting much consideration into it.

He smirked, as if he figured I wasn't going to believe him. "It's much more different than it is here. The Kane Mansion? It's filled with at least forty kids now, all blood of the pharaohs. It's so much more complicated than now; we have our own color change on the timeline in the Hall of Ages." He frowned after stating this.

"How would you know that?" As it is, it's not every day that someone could even get close to the Hall.

He sighed, weighing out if he should tell me or not I guess. "Would the concept of me being Chief Lector be too much?"

Uh, yeah, yeah it would be. He must have read it in my expression and frowned. "Iskandar can't live forever, despite what anyone thinks. He's mortal too, not a god."

I'm pretty sure he could qualify, being two centuries old. Just the mere thought of even Friedrich trying to challenge him seemed awful scary. No one really knows the extent of his power; he could probably blow up the First Nome with the flick of his wrist at this point.


	4. Trip to Kane, Pennsylvania

**These are scenes I wrote for the trip to Kane, Pennslyvania. Originally I was going to have Amos go with them at the same time without any problems rather than meet up later.**

* * *

-Jaz Anderson-

Today was now errand day. Amos suggested to stock up on supplies and achieve a car. Though how he suggests we get a car without a driver's license beats me. Thankfully I wasn't the only one thinking he'd walked off the cliff of saneness, both Walt and Sadie had pointed out the flaw quickly.

"There _are_ ways of initiating these things Sadie," Amos rolled his eyes in slight irritation. "So, Jaz and I will get the car, you two worry about the supplies, deal?"

No one had argued, so we went our ways for the day. I hesitated to catch up to the anxious acting teen as we headed towards the city. "So, I hope you're not planning on hot-wiring one," I quickly brought up. "I heard Bast did that once, and she's a god-awful driver."

"Just because I read a lot doesn't mean I know _everything_," Amos pointed out. "I don't even know how a car works other than how to operate it."

I blinked out of surprise, "You have a driver's license then?"

"I _just_ turned sixteen, what do you think?" Amos paused to let me catch up. "Julius and I took quick lessons from Desjardins. Doesn't help when you're escaping a hoard of demons at the same time, but beggars can't be choosers."

"In this day and age, people can get a license when they are fifteen," I pointed out the flaw in making his age against having one.

Amos shrugged it off though, "Doesn't matter, none of us have a license. I'm too preoccupied with work and studying to really bother with one. What's your excuse?"

I smirked as I gestured to him, "The same thing."

Amos frowned for a second, "You still miss having a normal life?"

I froze to that as he stopped walking, taking in my alarm. "H-How can you even _think_-"

He rolled his eyes out of irritation. "Why is it that every time I ask that people get so defensive? How about just plainly admitting it? It's not like the Chief Lector is going to set your soul on fire for saying yes."

I allowed myself a smile, not able to visualize Amos setting people on fire anyways. "Honestly, Jaz," Amos continued on despite my reaction, "I wish I could have a normal life. All I know is surrounded in magic. Somehow it's possible to miss something I've never even had."

I frowned now, watching him turn to continue on, hands shoved into his pockets. "Hey," I went to catch up, "I think you'll adjust well."

He immediately rolled his eyes. "More like you know, right?"

I hesitated to nod. Silence for a second before I cleared my throat, "So, how do you know?" I managed to ask without freaking out so much.

"Remember when you allowed me in your room for roughly five minutes? And I told you that you can learn a lot about someone _from_ their room?"

"Yeah, but there really wasn't anything-"

"Your bookshelf contains mainly romance novels and a sole picture album. Color coordination is kind of obnoxiously bright. Room is probably kept organized, carpet looked freshly vacuumed. Bed made neatly, almost too neat to be honest. And your closet," he paused and shook his head.

"Uh, the door was closed," I quickly recalled.

"I actually heard about its contents from Julian," he dryly admitted. "You apparently keep a cheerleading outfit in there. You pretend you don't feel bothered, but that's just an act you display right?"

Holy Hathor, he was only in there for five minutes! "Point is," Amos continued on despite my somewhat disturbed expression, "you don't have to hide it. Take Sadie for example, she _bluntly_ wants to try new things since we went on this trip. There's no real reason for you to cover it up, so why do you feel you have to?"

My tongue brushed against the roof of my mouth in an attempt to rehydrate it a little. "No one in Brooklyn is interested in what I used to do. What's important is what I can do."

Amos' eyebrows furrowed in response, "I beg to differ, that Sean kid is interested."

I immediately complained with a groan, Amos allowed a sly smile. "Why would he tell you?" I asked, a little confused to the thought.

"He thought we were siblings," Amos informed swiftly.

"Right," I mentally noted to personally punch him once we get back. "You're not going to write it down in that weird journal you've been updating, are you?"

Amos frowned for a second, "Hey, I don't know what's important and what isn't. I'm writing down everything I can."

"My personal issues don't need your nose in the middle of it," I pointed out.

"Probably not, I agree," Amos sighed before facing me again. "However, if and when we get this all situated and you're suddenly on the run for murder, it might actually be of use."

I caught myself laughing, gaining a small smile from the other. "Fine, it's not like you've really been the type to spread rumors anyways." I finally shrugged off.

"If it's any consolation," Amos hesitated to start, "I don't have a girlfriend."

My right eyebrow rose, recalling roughly three weeks ago the love note we uncovered. Maybe he ran into her after this age? "I lied just to get you to shut up for a moment. You especially disturbed me when you mentioned the _thought_ of Sadie chasing me."

I immediately caught myself laughing, now seeing why he had been so disturbed when I said it. "I am sorry, I didn't know-"

He waved it off with an understanding nod. "Anyways, I just have a crush. A really silly one that just doesn't make sense the more I think it over."

_Hmm, maybe that's her?_ I wasn't going to jump down his throat though, especially after reading the distress vividly written in the letter Sadie handed her. "How is it silly?"

"She doesn't seem that interested in finding a date. She's accepted me as a friend, which is all well and good too. However," he stopped and just waved it off.

"You're worried she'll get up and leave if you push on?" I managed to finish.

His head hung a little, confirming me correct. "Not necessarily leave," he managed to speak up.

"Oh?"

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, "Uh, I've already been told that I'm being paranoid about it, so I won't bother you with-"

"Don't be like that, you know how my personal life is and you're plotting to tell older you." I reminded quickly.

He sighed, removing his hand from his neck. "I'm not exactly anything anyone would be interested in. You take a look at people like Julius or Carter; they have everything puzzled out like it's really that simple. Everyone likes them, if not idol. So why would she possibly degrade herself when she has a chance to date him instead?"

I took a breath from alarm, catching a huge whiff of sibling rivalry. "Um, I don't have any siblings, only child."

Amos shook his head, "It's okay, I've been discussing it with Ruby for years now. She's an only child too, but she's also Julius's girlfriend at the moment." He gave a sour face suddenly, "Make that twenty-two years ago."

"Isn't that kind of mean?" I managed to ask.

Amos blinked in small confusion before his eyes lit up a little. "Oh, no. Ruby is the kind of person that will literally chew your ear off until you spill your guts on the floor. Surprisingly, it doesn't bother her in the least. She's been trying to tell me otherwise to be honest, never been a second-guesser I suppose."

"Thick amount of trust," I added in.

He smiled a little before nodding in agreement. "Apparently enough to marry and have two kids."

"So what are you worried about? You know Julius doesn't end up with her in the long run."

Amos gave a slight irritated look in his eyes now, "It's not really Julius I'm worried about."

"Rejection," I breathed out as I noted that never seemed to stop Sean.

"I'd love it if we could drop this."

I nodded, noting he appeared somewhat hostile thanks to the conversation. "Can I maybe finish it with some thought?" I hesitated to ask, halfway expecting him to blow up.

He hadn't, so I accepted that as an uneasy yes. "Tell her how you feel. I bet she's probably unsure as much as you are. But playing games like that isn't going to get you two anywhere."

Amos seemed like he considered my words for a minute. "You read that in one of your books?"

My eyebrows rose in reply. "Does it matter if I did? Its advice, it's better than nothing." I paused as I rolled my eyes. "And no, that actually came from the heart."

He took me in as we continued walking into town, finally spotting the highway. "Thanks."

I abruptly waved it off, "It's nothing."

He frowned, acting as if he wanted to say something, but mentally shot it down. We walked into town and spied a small restaurant nearby, a sole car parked in the front. Amos immediately went into the restaurant without second thought; I almost feared he was going to steal the car. I hesitated to enter to find him asking for directions.

"Uh, are you a runaway?" The woman asked, halfway shocked that she was being asked about the nearest car salesman.

"Considering the meaning of the word 'runaway', I think we all are. Just depends on what it is that you're trying to escape."

She immediately frowned as I face palm. "My sister and I just had our car break down on the highway. We're getting a tow for it, but we are in a desperate hurry," Amos continued, seeming to lift the woman's suspicion a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the result of telepathy.

"You just keep walking down the street; it's the shabby spot with a bunch of junk surrounding it." She finally gave in, a little too easy seeing she didn't originally feel like aiding us.

"Thanks," Amos immediately turned and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me out quickly.

"You can let go now," I snapped as I yanked my arm out of his grip.

"She didn't need to see you, that would make the story less plausible if you're acting like my sister," he explained dryly. "And I hate dealing with cops."

I caught myself laughing as he rolled his eyes. "Amos, then just use your skill in telepathy against them."

"Call me Kaden around here," Amos quickly instructed. "Also, I'm not very good at it. Julius could have made a story up about dragons wanting our purses and she still would have given him directions."

Its times like these that I halfway wish Sadie were around to hear the stories flying out of his mouth. "Why wouldn't she believe I'm your sister?" I questioned next.

He immediately shot me a disbelieving expression. "One good clue, Jaz," he immediately put his left arm against mine. Seeing it like this made him seriously look like charcoal and I'm the palest person alive.

"You've seen Sadie and Carter though," I continued on as he rolled his eyes.

"They're actually siblings, and I bet they hate the fact they don't look alike. My point, people are racist. She didn't believe me from the start, seeing you was not going to help."

"Alright, I get the idea."

"Sorry, but I just don't want to have someone call on us," Amos apologized as we continued on down the street.

"Because you hate cops."

"I don't hate them; I just can't deal with them," he corrected.

* * *

-Amos Kane-

Jaz gave me a weird look as I jumped into the bed of the rusty red truck. "Okay, I'm pretty sure that's not a usual requirement when it comes to buying cars."

I gestured her to stop, squatting to test my eye level with the sides, finding myself to see just fine when doing this. "Shouldn't we be looking at something with space?"

"We're going to want a truck, trust me on this," I finalized as I stood up.

"Sure," Jaz huffed as she turned around, freezing in place.

I looked to spy a man adjusting his cowboy hat before approaching us. "Hello there, I see you're interested in buying?"

"Yes sir, first time buyers," Jaz managed as he extended a hand to her.

I jumped out of the bed, earning a look of awe for a second as Jaz hesitated to shake hands. "What are your requirements to buy this truck?" I asked directly as he tried to shake my hand as well, which I simply ignored.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Well, a driver's license for starters, and then the funds to buy it."

"You accept cash?" I asked next, earning a look from Jaz.

"Yep," he finally dropped his hand. "You sure about this one? I have others you might want to consider-"

"Nope, the truck won," I answered quickly as Jaz noted the other heap piles that somehow can pass as working vehicles. I guess that waitress wasn't joking when she said junk. "How much?" I asked now, pulling out scraps of paper from the Duat, sitting in my pocket with my hand.

The salesman frowned as he took it in again, "Five hundred."

Jaz immediately turned to face him. "I don't think it's worth that much. I've seen cars with fresh paint go for two-"

I rolled my eyes as I pulled out the paper, the salesman giving me a smirk. _Must be working_, I handed him the paper.

He took it and smiled, gesturing us in. "Come, we have some paperwork to file first."

"Actually, you can keep the registration; I'll be only borrowing it." I continued on.

He nodded in understanding, Jaz raising an eyebrow as I smile to the success. "I'll see you in a few weeks then, good luck!" He stated enthusiastically before heading back inside, leaving us alone.

"Did you just-?"

"It's an awful habit; I don't suggest you ever try it." I continued, entering the truck.

"We need the keys-" She started as I pulled them out from the visor. "Oh, how did you-"

I simply tapped my right temple, proving to be enough of an answer for her to climb in. "This is breaking so many laws," Jaz complained as I started it up, finding the truck easily started up to my surprise.

"The only laws I abide to are gravity, physics, and the Chief Lector/Pharaoh." I replied as I put it in reverse. "Besides, he would have ripped some poor guy off if we didn't take it. Five hundred for this, he's getting it back in worse condition." And it's more than likely not going to require my assistance in that department.

"Right, a civil service that's what this it," Jaz rolled her eyes.

I drove back to the restaurant to spy Walt and Sadie walking past it. Pulling over and honking, they turned to see our success. "Hey, you did it," Sadie spoke up as they approached.

"Couldn't get a car?" Walt asked as they tossed the bags into the bed.

"Well, can you drive?" I asked him specifically.

"Don't have a driver's-"

I waved that away, we already went over this anyways. "I mean can you operate it?"

Walt frowned for a second, "Probably."

"Good, you're taking the wheel." I opened the door to let them in. "The front seat can fit three."

"What about you?" Sadie spoke up.

I pointed to the bed, "I'll keep myself on watch."

"Um, isn't it illegal to sit in the bed?" Jaz added on.

"Not during my time," I pointed out. "But thanks for the heads up, I'll make sure no one sees me."

I jumped in as they shrugged and finally got in. I tapped the roof to signal my readiness before sitting against the back, spying the trees surrounding us. It's kind of a peaceful place; I wish I didn't actually have to leave.

I've kept watch before, so this wasn't a big deal. I really wanted some space to myself though; both Jaz and Sadie have a habit of jumping down my throat for information. Mainly, I was still wondering why the hell I told Jaz about Caroline.

Resting my head against the truck as it started rolling out of the parking lot; I spied something watching me from the trees alongside the road. A wolf staring back at me with grey eyes. I'm sure it's probably a common occurrence, but the eyes reminded me of someone back at the First Nome. I sat upright as it now darted into the trees. A little bothered, I took it as a sign of someone watching us.

Sunset drew to dusk, Walt pulled over on the edge of the woods for us to quickly build camp for the night. I gently handed Walt and Sadie the backpacks that accompanied the back with me. "You coming?" Jaz asked once she spied me still sitting in the back.

I hesitated to answer, not really wanting to bother anyone. "I'm probably going to keep a night watch."

Yep, she immediately disapproved. But she hadn't said anything; instead she climbed in, sitting beside me as she took in the view. "I can see why you wanted to sit here, it's kind of nice."

"It's in case someone thinks they can pull us over," I explained.

Silence with the exception of Sadie and Walt discussing how they will go about setting the fire up ten feet away. "Well, we started talking," Jaz slowly started the onslaught I figured was waiting to launch. "Sadie says you've been having trouble sleeping."

_She better not be expecting me to spill my guts on her._ I sighed, resting my arms on my knees. "That's why I'm planning on staying awake this time, no need to concern yourself."

Also, I wasn't sure what to think of the wolf I spotted, and I didn't want to rally them up over a dog. Jaz sighed, a slight frown allowed itself to be known. "Don't you think you've done enough watching? You're going to need as much rest as you can-"

"I won't be able to this time," I managed out.

She paused, worried as she did a double-take on me. "What?" She managed to breathe out.

"Ever hear of insomnia?" I asked, making eye contact with the green-haired woman.

An inhale of realization before she nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty common these days," she informed me quickly. "But you seem able to sleep."

I can't bring myself to explain. I hate having to wake up and fear everything. It's just better to keep awake, winning against the grin imprinted in the back of my mind. Everything I do I second guess, wondering if I'm falling for a trap or not. The worst being the phantom pain, taking hours before it can finally dissipate.

I caught myself getting used to the bright green hair, wondering how I would react seeing her with her natural hair color. Her eyebrows are blonde, but I can't bring myself to imagine her with hair that color now. "Your hair is wearing on me," I admitted.

She gave an irritated tsk, "Don't try to change the subject."

"We can't let our guard down," I continued, knowing she wouldn't appreciate the topic change. "I've pulled off three days without sleep before; I suspect the three of you haven't."

Her expression hardened, a gaze in her eyes that almost reminded me of Caroline despite them being blue rather than brown. "Amos," she began to scowl.

"I've already settled myself up to the task, it doesn't matter what you say to persuade me otherwise," I added on.

Jaz gave a somewhat defeated look, seeming to know my words to be true. "You need your health," she approached a different angle. "If any of us do, you need it most."

I paused to realize she now almost has me cornered. If I die, who knows what happens to this. No matter how much I hate saying so, but I've grown fond of them. Who cares if the Nome turned into a playground? It's ten times stronger of a family than what had originally taken residence.

On the other hand, allowing my guard down might just do the job as well. The moon almost a taunting bastard on its own. I sighed, taking in that she's seeing my health affecting everything around us. Yeah, she might miss her normal life, but she has had every chance to leave Brooklyn too.

"You asked for me to join as 'good luck' as I recall," Jaz spoke up. "Maybe you should take my advice into consideration instead of fighting it?"

She motioned to climb out of the bed. Planting her feet on the ground, she went to leave when I instead caught her right hand to stop her. She faced me out of surprise. "I know what you're saying," I managed, slowly easing the grip. "We can't afford it, there's too much on the table for a last breath, I get it."

Her expression softened a little, maybe a little eased by my understanding. "Jaz," I hesitated to continue, "I want to thank you."

Confused now, she hesitated to stay put to hear whatever else I was going to say. "I've only ever had a handful of people trying to keep me in check. I know, my mind wanders a lot and I end up doing some crazy things that just don't make sense. But trust me; I'm going to keep myself ready."

Her eyes lit up a little, "Because there's too much on the table." She managed to finish for me.

I nodded, smiling a little as her fingernails tapped the rusting paint of the truck. "You sure you'd rather stay up?" She asked again.

"It doesn't matter, I told myself I would so that's the way it's going to be," I explained. "Do me a favor and get some good sleep, okay?"

Her right eyebrow rose questionably. "I'm not sure how that helps you, but okay."

* * *

-Sadie Kane-

I slowly sat up to find the fire still lit, keeping us warm. Peering over to the truck, the bed stood empty. I quickly stood up now, pulling my staff and wand out as I approached the truck. Amos remained nowhere to be found. "Shit," I cursed as I peered over at Walt and Jaz, sleeping like the dead.

A faint wolf howl sounded from the woods, probably bouncing off of the mountains. I waited to find another followed, obviously from a much smaller dog this time. I waited again for the other to reply deciding to follow it this time.

I walked twenty feet before I spotted my uncle searching the trees with very observant eyes. Another howl from the smaller dog signaled off. "Hey," I managed in a whisper as I stopped to his left.

"It's a message," he started softly, head turned slightly to the left to hear the other's reply.

"Oh, so you've studied dogs as well?" I managed sarcastically.

He caught it rather quickly; he's getting really good at figuring me out. "Jeez Sadie," he stopped short to the probably puppy-like wolf howling his head off. "They've been at it for hours now, I'm pretty certain this isn't normal wolf behavior."

"And how would you know?" I asked quickly, earning a glare from the other.

"I'm friends with a guy practically obsessed with wolves. Not to the point to summon them on a daily basis like your penguin buddy," Amos continued on. "He could probably translate this without a problem."

Another howl went off, this time much more forced if not closer. "It sounds like they're reuniting with a lost puppy of theirs," I made a wild stab on the matter.

"Perhaps, but I get the feeling it's something else." Amos hesitated to face me, "What are you doing up anyways?"

"Uh, bad nightmare."

"Hmm," classic Amos reply, "I know about those."

What is that supposed to mean? Is he being sarcastic now? His eyes seemed to state that he genuinely meant it though; making me tone down the tirade I had planned to unleash. I cleared my throat, wondering if I can maybe get a little more insight on him. "You know, I never met Grandfather Kane. What was he like?"

Amos' lower jaw slackened a little. "Why are you asking me this? Can't you go ask older me?"

Maybe, except he'll probably find a way to avoid it and bring something to distract me with. Sneaky bastard at times, but I have to hand him credit for the effort he goes to avoid answering. Annoyed sigh, "Works hard, loyal to the Chief Lector, well-known combat magician."

I frowned, that was not the answer I was fishing for. "Um, I meant what _you_ see him as."

Amos blinked for a second, "What do you mean?"

Holy Isis, does he not understand English? "Like, did he use to read you books, or tuck you in?"

"Uh, I can read books fine on my own. And what do you mean by 'tuck in'?"

I blinked before I could finally process it. "No, you have to be joking," I breathed out. Was he seriously so much of a workaholic that he didn't spare time with his own children?

Amos crossed his hands over his chest now, awaiting an answer. "Do you have any father-son moments with him?" I asked, earning a snarl from him.

Amos immediately seemed to catch on now, a frown being the first response. I didn't plan to continue, getting the idea as it was. He sighed, seeming to ignore the wolf howls now. "It's not like he doesn't try, he's just busy," Amos sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself on the matter. "My mother was married to him and left alone in Brooklyn for nearly twenty years before he brought up the idea of kids."

My right eyebrow rose as he questioned my reaction for a second. "Arrange marriage via honoring the man who banished Sobek before he could demolish the Seattle House."

"So, she more than likely hates his guts," I hinted at dryly, wondering if he knows just as much.

A small twinge of confusion before he nodded, "Toleration is key to balance, or so Thoth thinks."

"Thoth can be an idiot," I quickly added on. "Sure, he's about keeping everything in check, but he really isn't a wise guy."

Amos' eyes lit up for a second before he smirked. "You probably hear this a lot, but you sound just like Julius."

My face flushed, "Actually, that's the first I've heard someone say that."

Crickets overtook our conversation for two minutes. "Sounds like the wolves found each other," I pointed out.

Amos seemed a little at edge to the thought. "We should take it as a good sign," I continued on. "You know, good omen or whatever."

"The best Roman warriors were said to be raised by wolves. Lupa teaches them strength before they are even accepted by the legion." Amos faced me as he stated this. "Personally, I wouldn't take it as a good sign."

Wow, what happened to the guy who knew how to keep faith in a dire situation? Obviously not here right now, he's on vacation. "Befriending them makes it good, Amos."

He obviously didn't take my words into consideration, shifting some dirt around with his feet. "I suppose politics isn't something you've indulged in."

I have tried, I really have. Bast was right, he isn't the person I know him as at all. Yeah he's book smart, but it's so hard to connect with him. It's like talking to a brick wall, and he rarely ever smiles. I'm finding myself somewhat hating him. We have to fix this; I don't think I can stand another day.


	5. Sacrifice to Osiris

**This was the original plan for when the Chief Lector officially returned home. I prefer what I went with in the story, but there were still some good scenes in this.**

* * *

-Trevor Starr-

This morning brought a gleaming reminder as to why Max Hunter is so valuable to the Eighty-Fifth. Standing as one of two animal charmers that Amos Kane was comfortable with when we were all initiates managed to plant him a permanent spot in their underground communication. From what Max has said, it's usually controlled by Kyra Teal. Unfortunately, it's rarely good news.

Apparently Kane managed to get back to his proper timeframe, waltzed right into Brooklyn to be immediately scorned by his nephew, stating his replacement to be Torsten Friedrich himself. Immediately something was wrong with that, why would Carter Kane be so furious as to replace his advisor to a complete madman?

Kane refused to hand the cape over, in turn starting a struggle between him and Friedrich. It was apparently a rather destructive fight that Kane had decided to pull them into the Duat. So far there are no further updates because no one knows where they went. Kyra had to leave it at that, stating there was a list of people she still needed to get to and she didn't have time to explain the confusing bits.

What caught my attention the most was the _idea_ of Friedrich as Chief Lector. His eyes gleaming with entertainment when it came down to torture haunted my vision. I started shaking somewhat, especially when I concluded that this might be it.

When it comes down to movement of the position of Chief Lector, there are various ways. One can step down and claim someone else for it. One dies from natural causes or murder and the next highest ranked magician takes his place. A duel. The worst being straight up murder by the hands of another magician, in which case killer proves he is stronger and practically wins himself the cape.

Which makes Kane's attempt at keeping Brooklyn safe from their fight incredibly stupid. Now it's just him and Friedrich, he was safer at Brooklyn House than he is now. No witness means he's stuck playing Torsten's sick game.

I stood up from the dining table, apparently earning the rest of the adult magicians' attention. "Abby, I want you to take over. Kate, you're coming with me, same with you Max."

Max immediately bit his lower lip as Kate's eyebrows furrowed. "I assume you have a plan?"

"Only a slight one, we'll see as we keep going," I answered quickly as I pushed the chair back under the table. "I suggest you two hurry eating your breakfast and equip for a fight."

* * *

-Amos Kane-

All I could think of was to hide. The abandoned high temple was a good shot at it. Any normal circumstance and I would have walked away from the thought. No Setian has entered that temple in years, fear of the rest of the siblings gets to your head so fast that I probably wouldn't even have noticed that Horus stopped by as well.

He must have seen me enter, because he was currently taking his time looking around. I collapsed in pain in the middle of the room, thankfully behind the statues of Hathor and Sekhmet. I wasn't sure at this point if I was shaking due to blood loss or fear. All that really ran through my head was to keep hidden.

I wound up pressing the leopard cape against the deep gash on the left side of my torso while shakily clasping my left hand over my mouth and nose in an attempt to keep quiet. Meanwhile Torsten was starting to get bored, talking to me while still looking around.

"I'm sure your father is proud of you, hiding from a fight like the baby you are."

I could see that he's just a good seven feet away, so I go to slowly move towards Hathor's left side, managing somehow to keep quiet even though the movement jolted the laceration. The sound of his footfalls against sandstone seemed to echo in my head, and I caught myself praying that he doesn't get frustrated any time soon and start destroying statues.

Torsten started to chuckle suddenly; I could see him place some weight of his sword against his shoulder. "Why the drama? You know you're going to lose. Face your death like a man, Runt."

That's the problem, I _can't_ lose. There's far too many things I need to fix before I can call quits on living. Carter's safety is one of them.

I froze when I connected eyes with Friedrich. Good thing too, because apparently he still couldn't see me. When he turned away to look around a different statue is when I processed I didn't even have the time to apply invisibility upon myself.

As a statuary, you learn that the statue of any god is a good access point to that god. This is the first time I've really experienced it myself, and I immediately thanked Hathor for her help within my own skull. With this old information back at the front of my mind, I wondered if I could manage to awaken some of them to fight him off. Or if I should just make a mad dash to the Demon Days, who happen to have their own room towards the back.

Each idea was risky, and I considered staying beside Hathor as well, but I quickly concluded he'd get frustrated and start destroying statues at some point. I spotted Sobek not to far off, deciding that's a good place to start. I slowly went about crawling over to him, pausing a few times in hopes that Friedrich still won't find me.

I managed to get to him, but Sobek's statue had instead crumbled his right hand, stone rattling against the floor. It hadn't taken Friedrich long to walk back and find me. "Relying on the gods are we?"

I didn't have a chance to respond, seeing stars seconds after the leather hilt of his khopesh. I soon realized I was passing out when I could faintly take in the cape in his hands as he observed the blood caked on it.

I woke up and once my vision cleared, the first thing I processed was Horus' face. I jumped in reaction, and then mentally slapped myself when I realized it was just another statue. Worse for me, I found myself with my arms behind my back, wrapped around something rather large. Mouth dry, a moment of trying to fix that I realized there was something in my mouth preventing me from doing so.

My left side made sure I remembered the never-ending bleeding before I passed out. Why am I still alive? Torsten got what he wanted, right? He won; he had me at a low point. He got the cape; he just has to kill me to finalize his taking of Chief Lector.

A chuckle sounded from my left, finding the blue eyes watching me as he leaned against a statue of Isis. "Do you recognize where you are?"

I can only guess it's something with the Demon Days, but as to where we are exactly is beyond me. He nodded as he kneeled to be at eye level. "It's said this is the exact place that Horus stabbed Set's heart."

I froze; my eyes had widened a bit as I processed it. Torsten just smiled, reached for something in his pocket to reveal it to be a flint knife. "If you hadn't gone all crazy over the god hunting business, you would have eventually known the grand purpose of this place. You see, Horus is a picky god, if you want to follow his 'protection' you have to show that you're worthy of it. That required you to hunt down Set, bring him here, and stab the poor son-of-a-bitch right where you are."

A wave of realization struck me. Jabari must have performed this ritual, the reason he apparently is hosting Horus. The very reason he breathed down Julius' neck all the time, the reason he had given us orders to hunt down godlings. He was training Julius to eventually commit the same ritual.

Torsten smirked, gathering my attention again. "Thing is, people forget that ancestries branch off. _Your_ family isn't the only one related to Narmer. Jabari was fully aware; he went hunting for all of us and went about training us for this moment. In case if he were to die, one of us would take his place. That changed when Julius got into the picture."

That's when the situation slammed into me. The reason he kept me alive was so he could gain favor from the Avenger? Would that even work performing it on someone who isn't hosting Set anymore?

I was hoping I could ask; maybe spare myself from having the sharp object in his hands shoved into my chest. I flinched to the contact he made with the edge gracing my ugly scar already between my ribs, and then slowly realized he had apparently taken my shirt off to display it even more.

"We've been through quite a bit, haven't we?" Torsten laughed as he pulled the blade back. "You should have died the first run around; you just had some really good friends to help you back up. Then you came up with the trap that halted my plans to bombard the First Nome, which sent me to Antarctica." He nodded his head as he took it all in.

"I should hate you, yet I don't. I find you entertaining, that I do, but I can't bring myself to hate you. You're just the kid that broke everything his father wanted; doing something I had wanted to do for some time. In a sense, I think I find you to be more of a friend. You've helped me out more than anyone else has. Especially now, Amos. You helped fuel Setne's overtake of Carter's body, and now you're handing me the position of Chief Lector _and_ Horus' favor."

Instinctively I shook my head, protesting it all but my words only came out muffled. He patted my head with his left hand. "Oh come on now, I'm helping you too. A son of Narmer can't honestly be happy hosting Set, can he?"

I squirmed, attempting to get away from his hand that decided to trace the scar this time, his eyes taking it in. "I should tell you, I'm glad it's you. I'll remember this thoroughly for my years of Chief Lector, maybe even Pharaoh if I push hard enough. Better than some stranger I hardly know."

* * *

-Trevor Starr-

I wound up sneaking around the inside of the temple. It wasn't until I reached the back wall of the main room that I could hear a calm voice speaking in a small room to the left. After a moment, I could recognize it to be Friedrich's voice, chanting in Ancient Egyptian.

Thankfully the door was already askew, allowing me to peer inside, much to my horror. The German was wielding a knife in his right hand, chanting like a goddamn madman. The entirety of this, the Chief was doing whatever he could to escape, which wound up just being squirming and whimpering through the gag halting whatever Divine Words he could easily use to his advantage.

The scene spooked the hell out of me, yet it seemed vaguely familiar. Three statues total, Horus facing Isis and Osiris. Amos was bound with something around Osiris' ankles, which kind of threw me off about the scene. What exactly is it representing?

Torsten's words suddenly jumped into excitement, kneeling before Amos now. That just made the guy ten times more anxious, especially with the way the wacko is holding the knife's hilt tightly.

I slip my khopesh out of the leather strap, readying myself to interrupt whatever is going on. I froze when the words tumbling out of Friedrich's mouth suddenly made sense.

_And behold Osiris, Osiris Ani shall come forth by day to do his will upon earth among the living._

I froze as I processed those exact words, they had been written in the Book of the Dead. I only know that because I failed the class and had to repeat it a few times when I was a kid. I immediately regretted distracting myself so easily.

He thrusted the knife right into the Chief Lector's chest. Amos showed signs of serious agony and shock before going limp, his head an inch from touching the hilt sticking out of him. Torsten stood up after half a minute.

_Hail Soul, thou mighty one of strength! Verily I am here, I have come, I behold thee. I have passed through the underworld, I have seen father Osiris, I have scattered the gloom of night. I am his beloved one. I have come; I behold my father Osiris. I have stabbed Set to the heart. I have done the things by my father Osiris. I have opened every way in heaven and upon earth. I am the son beloved of his father Osiris. I have become a ruler, I have become glorious, I am furnished. Hail, all ye gods, and all ye shining ones, make ye a way for me, the Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant._

My eyes burned, threatening to water as I kept staring at the body of Kane. It took me a moment to recognize the fact that I couldn't believe it, nor wanted to.

It took me even longer to realize that Torsten had repeated the last sentence, getting frustrated over something. He eventually turned to face Horus, yelling in German. To both my surprise and his, the statue of Horus started to move, forcing Torsten to back off a good five feet.

"You have quite the nerve," Horus growled as he took in Torsten, who now armed himself with his khopesh. "Taking away my Eye, and then demanding I take you instead? You're not worthy, Friedrich. You had the right idea; however you killed the wrong man. You have not stabbed Set, only his High Priest. Not a worthy present to Osiris."

"He hosted Set!" Torsten screamed in frustration.

"For a year and a half," Horus took a step, and then attempted to swat the annoyed German who ducked behind Osiris now.

Wait, is he implying that someone can back out of hosting? Let alone Set, the God of Chaos? I shook the thought out of my head, readying myself to run once Torsten has given up a good enough of space from the Chief Lector. Horus is doing a superb job of getting this, eventually making him run out of the room all-together.

I ran up to the statues thankfully keeping themselves as statues. I hesitated once I stood two feet away from the bloody mess at Osiris' feet. A slash along his side seeming to finally close up from the blood, the knife pouring even more out. His mouth was even starting to dribble some of the red crap out.

I kneeled, hesitating to even check for a pulse. My own quickened when I could feel he still has one, rapid and feeble, but still in existence. But dread took over as I processed there being no way I can heal or even safely move with a sharp object still in him.

I jumped, the hairs on my arms stood up even, when the huge falcon head of Horus wound up in my peripheral vision. Right, Amos is apparently still loyal to Set, making him a threat to Horus. Without another thought, I drew my sword.

He just chuckled at the thought. "I do adore seeing Narmer's various sons grouping up. Last I heard you didn't want anything to do with the Kanes, Starr."

"I still would rather not, but it's been brought to my attention that it's the only way to ensure my daughter's safety." I finally processed the fact that I'm on the losing end of this fight. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she stays safe, even if that means I have to fight off a goddamn statue!"

"Perfect," Horus appeared to have a smug look on his face, "there's a rather ferocious woman about to swoop in, and she'll be expecting answers."

What? I processed it and as I was about to ask him who, he was already back in his original spot, frozen like a statue should be. Slightly annoyed now, I turned to take in Amy again. Before I could figure out the best way to remove the knife, rushed footsteps entered, and I found myself facing a familiar feminine face.

She wasn't very happy, cursing in a different language. "Remove yourself from the room, or be damned to an early grave!"

Russian accent, what exactly would the likes of her want from the Chief Lector? "I'd rather not; I've pretty much forced myself to ensure Kane's survival."

She studied me for a moment before loosening her harsh grip on her staff. "Vika Menshikov, I've been trying to track him down once I heard."

I relaxed slightly, maybe she's sitting in the same situation as I. "He's still alive, just not sure how to help him." I explained the situation as she zoned in, eyes seemingly horrified to the sight.

She started rattling in the other tongue, which I'm assuming is Russian, peeled her coat off as she kneeled. Lifted his chin with her right hand, she then yanked the knife out, seeming to earn a whimper deep inside Kane's throat. She tossed it quickly to the floor, still ranting in Russian as her left hand flew immediately to the bleeding hole in his chest.

Blue light illuminated her hand once it made contact with the wound. This managed to earn a coughing fit from Amos, more blood spilling from his mouth, the cloth absorbing some of it while the rest escaped from the corners. Half a minute passed before she stopped, removing her hands as she almost collapsed to the floor. I managed to brace her, moving her to lean against Horus' feet.

I then moved in to see what she did, finding the wound closed, with a bit of scarring visible in the vicinity of the puncture. "Not very good," her voice even spoke of her exhaustion, "should buy some time to get Rehket."

"Even better, get him somewhere safer," I praised slightly as I turned to her again. "You too, you'll need a place to sleep this off without the threat of someone attempting to murder you."

She laughed at the thought, "Good luck."

I frowned slightly to her implications. "The Eighty-fifth Nome won't dare to harm you without my approval."

Menshikov nodded once she took in my words. "Nap sounds lovely."

* * *

I wish I could state things had gotten better. Three hours after our arrival, Amos came down with a high fever. Further inspection revealed that the laceration to his side had closed, but was now turning the skin around it a sickly grey.

"Friedrich's khopesh," I spoke aloud, "that fucker had something engraved into the blade, it's why it was glowing orange."

Kate huffed at the mere thought. "And we thought we could get a lucky break. Patricia was the only healer amongst us."

Abby gently put the cold compress on his already sweating forehead, earning a low groan of unconscious recognition. "Perhaps we can contact someone within the Twenty-first? I heard a rumor about a girl there studying the Path of Sekhmet."

My eyebrows furrowed to her words. "No, contacting them right now is too risky. Plus I don't suspect someone studying Sekhmet's bloodlust is really going to be of any value."

"Uh, no. She studies poisons and whatnot." Abby corrected quickly.

"Doesn't matter, we're not giving away that Amos Kane is still breathing and in our Nome for that matter."

Both Hunter twins nodded in understanding. Kate sighed with slight frustration. "Should do him a favor and spare him the misery."

"No mercy kills either," I snapped. "We have some time to figure out what it is. We're not just going to give up."

I then gestured Kate to leave with me, instructing Abby to update me if his condition changes. Then made my way over to Menshikov's room. She managed to heal the damage done to the stab wound, plus her family is known for cursing other families. I figured my best shot is to ask her.

She wasn't happy to wake up knowing only bad news. "You're asking like I'm some talented healer. My family likes to poison and curse, not recover someone from those ills."

My arms crossed over my chest, and she immediately rolled her eyes. "Do you honestly have no one that knows a damn thing or two?"

"I suppose we're all rookies when it comes down to it. I just came to ask you because you're the oldest magician within the House of Life. You'd know better than we do." I explained my reasoning, slightly offended by her attitude on the matter, though it's completely justified.

She frowned, though she appeared to be contemplating something. "You should ask the entirety of your Nome, Starr. You might get lucky and find someone that knows."

My right eyebrow rose to her suggestion. "We're mainly comprised of combat magicians, a few elementalists, and one annoying animal charmer. I'm pretty certain there are no healers around, or anyone that's slightly interested in the department."

"And I kept a strict rule about not following the Gods, until Kane wound up showing me a kid within my Nome studying Shu." She fully sat up now from the bed, forcing a wheezing cough out of her. "Just ask, and make sure they know there's no threat for the truth."

I was slightly curious about this Shu kid and the fact that she apparently feels guilty over the subject, but she threw a valid point at me. "Alright, sorry for disturbing your rest."

"It's fine, so long as it stays important, Starr."

* * *

I called a mass meeting, asking if anyone had any general concept of curing poisons. No one had responded, some appearing almost hesitating. "Look, the truth is we are harboring the Chief Lector, _the real one_, here. We just found out that he was poisoned, and I'd rather prefer the idea he lives than let our former guest proudly wear the cape."

Whispering did go off now, questions within their eyes, but no one stood forward still. "Seriously, no one?"

I almost gave up when a teenage girl managed to shove her way forward. "Name's Jaz, I'm from the Twenty-first Nome."

What? I had never even seen this girl, how did she get here and how long _has_ she been here. She removed the baseball cap, allowing green/blonde hair strands to tumble out, stopping at her shoulders. "Look, I understand you have a number of questions right now. It can wait, I promise. Just get me to Amos; I'll make certain he is back on his feet."

Kate jabbed me with her elbow, "Well, maybe this is that girl Abby was talking about."

* * *

-Jasmine Anderson-

Vika gave an approved nod to the news. "Good, I would have hated that I nearly killed myself for him to die anyways."

I bit my tongue. I knew better than to fall for her words of hate. Her actions have repeatedly shown loyalty. As stated on numerous occasions, actions speak louder than words. "I'm certain he'll want to thank you for doing so," I threw in, awarded with a disgusted huff from her before she chugged some more coffee down.

We're waiting for Amos to join us for brunch. Trevor wished for him to sleep in and for the rest of his Nome to go blind on this meeting anyways. Unfortunately, I've noticed Amos isn't the 'sleep in' type. So I had made sure to apply a spell last night, make sure he doesn't start walking around at five in the morning as he has made habit in New York.

He had regained consciousness two days after I cured the poison, and forced by my instruction to stay in bed for another two days. He didn't complain much, he hardly even spoke for that matter. It drilled fear into me, and I knew it had something to do with Carter practically tossing him to his death.

I should have known better this go around. I suspect he'd still be in a slightly depressed state, and show it. However, I'm slowly realizing how good of an actor he is.

He entered the dining room, cleaned up with freshly pressed crimson. A confident stride, but a highly serious expression made to be completely known by everyone. He only grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting between Menshikov and I, the opposite head of the table from the Nome Leader.

I was about to protest his lack of eating. Once I opened my mouth, he immediately gestured me to keep quiet. "We can discuss it privately if you want," he spoke calmly, making me shut my mouth just as fast as I had opened it.

The three Hunters at the table seemed to see it, so had Starr. Vika made no note of it. Starr managed a smile nonetheless, clearing his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Max, am I assured that you've notified Teal?"

Max rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Of course, she has been pretty much riding my ass once I told her you rescued her cousin. Unfortunately, she had been forced back into Seattle by the Pharaoh's wishes. She says she's managed to get a few subtle messages to her second-cousin, but not much."

"I suspect Carter is keeping a good eye on the Twenty-First Nome," Abby added on.

Kate snorted in response. "I hear they're considering making New York the First Nome."

Vika lifted her eyes from her now empty plate, taking note of Amos' passive expression. "Friedrich believes you are dead."

Kane nodded slowly before taking a sip of coffee, eyes still taking everyone in. Starr reflected some discomfort to the Chief Lector's neutral expression. "Well, I'd think we should go about trampling his built up pride."

"What goes up must come down," Kate added in smugly. "No one threatens the Eighty-fifth without at least losing a limb."

"I'd honestly hope you're not considering storming my Nome," Amos finally spoke up. "That's far too risky a move, considering the Pharaoh isn't himself and we are lacking communication with the others."

"Isn't himself?" Kate rolled her eyes. "What, you think someone is mind-controlling him to be an ass-wipe?"

"I'm insulted by your implications, Miss Hunter. And as far as I'm concerned, the only ones here that can make any accusation is _this_ side of the table."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's see how far you get with your disillusion that your nephew wants anything to do with the likes of you, Kane."

I expected him to snap, I expected anyone in his position to snap. He hadn't, just simply placed his mug on the table, eyes strictly on Kate Hunter. "If Carter wishes it of me, I would gladly take a knife to myself."

She laughed at him. "You might as well go back and stab yourself in the heart then."

Vika abruptly turned to her this time, immediately earning everyone's attention. "I am only the Nome Leader of the Eighteenth Nome. I am fully aware that Carter is not the type to take lives; neither is he the type to let power get to his nerves. How else do you imagine someone controlling Horus?"

The Hunters kept to themselves immediately, Abby and Max more ashamed of their sister's words. Trevor nodded in understanding, decided to stand up from the table now. "Well, does anyone have an idea as to who is currently controlling Carter Kane?"

Amos cleared his throat, "Anyone recall the story of Setne the Thief?"

"Stole the Book of Thoth, but he returned it because he was cursed over it." Max added on.

"The returning part is fake; he had kept it hidden right before he died. Both Zia and Carter can attest to that," Amos kept his eyes on the Nome Leader. "Unfortunately, it's the reason Julius handed him over. The book had information pertaining to defeating a certain deity, and Setne was the only one who knew where he hid it."

"Then why would someone even lie about him returning this book?" Kate judged quickly.

"So it wouldn't encourage scavengers," Abby suggested. "Plus, they tell you this story when you're ten. Probably made it up to teach us how to apologize for our stupid actions."

Trevor exhaled deeply, placing his hands on the table. "So, ghost with valuable spells at his fingertips but can't use them. Best way _to_ use them is if you have a body in the first place. Decides to skip trying to push his way up the power-ladder the Per Ankh has become and takes Carter's body as his container. _But_ he needs help doing that, so he recruits our pal Friedrich, granting him the position of Chief Lector for his services. Which explains who Friedrich was gathering certain people up for, but not as to why."

"Gathering?" Amos scanned our faces for any kind of idea as to what Starr is even talking about.

I sighed, recalling how scared he was, instructing I keep hidden within the Nome. "He was staying here, attempting to fish out Carter and you." I answered quickly for him. "Carter clearly for Setne, though I have no idea as to what they wanted from you."

"Carter was never here," Max continued. "Must have gotten him some other way. However, Friedrich seemed satisfied enough on having a fifteen-year-old Amos Kane."

Vika leaned back against her chair, eyes taking in the Chief Lector that made me uncomfortable. "Perhaps they needed a larger pool of magic to pull it off. After all, you're still linked up with the smaller Ma'at one. Clearly 'Kaden' is running around with your larger Isfet reserve."

Amos immediately frowned, but nodded after a few seconds. "Used me to help him overtake Carter."

The table was quiet for a good minute before Trevor cleared his throat. "Kate, I want you to brief everyone still capable of fighting. We'll have to initiate an attack on New York if there's to be any hope to fix this mess. Abby, you're staying to help defend the Nome while the rest of us are gone. Max, you better contact Teal and ready her for a fight as well."

All three dismissed themselves, Trevor stood by as if expecting orders or maybe confirmation from the Chief Lector himself. Amos turned to me, immediately putting me on edge. "Have you managed solid contact by any chance?"

"N-No, you told me to keep hidden. I kind of kept that way, figuring I'd slip out once I heard of your whereabouts. Sorry," my hands were shaking a bit from the letdown.

"Don't be," he interrupted quickly. "If I handed you those orders, then you followed them perfectly. We'll just have to find a different way to reach Sadie. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you would stay here as well, help recover the wounded and aid Abby Hunter in defending the Eighty-Fifth."

I immediately frowned, pushing me to the side again. I wanted to protest, stand up and slap him upside the head. Yet I know he's just trying to defend as many people as he can. Perhaps spare as many people from whatever is demanded to free Carter and rid the living of Torsten. I closed my eyes and nodded, only obliging because it's probably for the best in the long run.

* * *

-Trevor Starr-

I watched as the girl left the dining room, leaving Menshikov, Kane, and I. Vika immediately frowned towards the Chief Lector once the door closed. "Looked as if she wanted to throw a punch."

"She's not ten, she can see through my front almost as good as you can. She just doesn't know me well enough to understand my full intentions." Amos's brown eyes landed on me again.

That look is starting to drive me crazy. He knows something, and he clearly has questions, but he's still hesitating to toss one. It's the reason I dismissed the Hunters, hoping it might help him feel more comfortable. It turns out that it's going to require us being alone, considering even Vika is keeping him quiet.

"Perhaps one of the animal charmers can relay messages to your niece?" Vika offered now.

His eyes lit up, considered it for a moment before nodded his approval. "I suppose I should make arrangements with Max on the matter."

"Dah," Vika stood up now, patting his left shoulder, "I will get to it myself. You have much more important items to attend to, no?"

She left, almost happy to do so. Now I'm standing on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Amos took a sip of coffee, and then cleared his throat. "I understand I'm not in a position to ask this, but I'm going to require a bodyguard."

Oh, that's it? I nodded in understanding. "Okay, I might be able to find someone for the job. What exactly will you need one for?"

He sighed and made eye contact again. "Can't be _just_ anyone, Starr."

I sighed with slight agitation to the thought. "Okay, what are you specifically looking for?"

Amos hesitated. "Well, it should preferably be a combat magician; I'm more accustomed to fighting alongside one. Should also be someone that is willing to take extra measures, will do as I ask of him even if it's something he'd rather not take into his hands. Someone with a background of leadership skills, it'll more than likely be required for the things I'll be demanding of him. I'd also prefer it to be someone that has something to lose if he doesn't fall through with my wishes."

I coughed in response, registering the demands being made. "Uh, well, those are some extreme requirements."

"Yes it is," Amos frowned. "That's the reason I'm asking the only one I know that fits."

I thought over the demands and let out a frustrated sigh in response. "You still haven't answered as to _why_ you want me to be this bodyguard, Kane."

He chugged down the rest of his coffee, stared at it for a good minute before inhaling deeply. "He got too close."

Amos Kane's wall is breaking before my very eyes, and I found myself wanting to keep it together as if I even am capable of such an option. He managed to put the cup down, but it gave enough evidence as to how shaken he is.

I exhaled deeply, "You're scared of being murdered? What about the stories about you getting super suicidal and-"

"Death doesn't scare me in the slightest, Trevor." He was quick to correct, eyes locked onto mine. "Right now, my main concern is Torsten."

"Oh good, something we can be on common ground for." I rolled my eyes.

"Look, you're the only one I can think of that would be willing to do this favor." His voice gained a slight edge now. "I'm planning to face him again, and I only want you beside me when it happens. If I can't get him down, I expect you to step in and take my life."

My eyebrows furrowed. "We're sending a freaking army in, why not have us all fight that bastard? It doesn't have to be some flashy standoff-"

"Setne is a major concern as well. If anything, I'd like for Carter's safety. We'll make everyone focus on that because I honestly can't handle any more deaths at Friedrich's hands."

I paused whatever retort I was going to throw, frowning as I carefully absorbed the Chief Lector's words. "Wait, hold on. You're asking _me_ to kill you so _I_ will be Lector rather than let Friedrich?"

He rolled his eyes promptly, "You're still as slow as I recall."

My eyes narrowed immediately in response. "And you're still an arrogant prick that thinks he's above everyone else."

Amos smirked, which kind of woke me from the routine I was accustomed to when we were initiates. "Now, how can one look down on another when he is aware of how much trouble he is? When he finds it fit to no longer exist, except to aid his nephew in his ruling of course."

I wound be being speechless. One, he's not even going to fight me. And then he admits that the only fucking reason he's fighting on is for his brother's kids.

"Well," Amos finally stood, "clearly your answer is no. I'd rather not bother you any longer, especially when I'm full out aware that Jaz wants to hand a lecture about not eating."

I somehow managed to let out a humored laugh. "Yeah, Abby is good at it too." I managed to shake my head of my thoughts, trying to focus on what Kane is saying. "I suppose I have no real choice but to say yes. I can't really afford Friedrich being Chief Lector."

A glistening of understanding in his eyes as he nodded. "Alright, speak of it to no one."


	6. Amos' Kidnapping

**This is the original I wrote up for Amos' kidnapping when he was fifteen which results in his first interaction with Torsten. You'll probably recognize parts of this in the story, and that is due to the fact that I would refer back to this on an occasion. Next chapter will be the rescue. I never planned to put these scenes in the story.**

* * *

-Amos Kane-

I woke to blurry vision. I closed my eyes and tried to clear it up but it didn't do much. "You sure this is him?" A hoarse voice growled.

"It is, the French guy was calling him by name." A feminine voice replied as I took in my situation a little better.

My hands were bounded by something thick, sitting on some wooden chair, dust filling my nostrils to each inhale. My vision still refused to cooperate, which was starting to piss me off, but I could make out two figures to go along with the voices.

"He doesn't match the description I was given." The more buff looking figure must have been a guy. "He, well, doesn't look very threatening like a Kane." He explained.

"It's his son, Torsten. Why would Desjardins call him a Kane when he isn't related?" The woman snarled.

"Perhaps he got word?" The male continued, probably rolling his eyes.

"Why don't you ask him then? He'll know." She snapped, storming off.

The blur was starting to fix itself, and I could tell the man staring down at me could probably keep his footing against my father in a fistfight. His arms were excessively toned, and he was just tall in all rationality. I don't think I could really picture this guy being skinny and that tall. "You starting to wake up yet?" He snapped, arms crossing as he took a step closer, peering right in my face.

I didn't answer, trying to figure out where the hell I am, or even how I got into this. He immediately applied his fingers to my left eye, forcing to open it wider to get a better look. My eyelid complained to the force as his eyes narrowed, letting go after a few seconds. "Well, he's awake, just in a daze from the spell." Another male voice continued, not sounding as harsh as his.

"And _how_ long until it's supposed to wear off?" He snapped, obviously impatient.

"_Well_, I have a spell that could probably wake him up from it. However, it has a high chance of scrambling their thoughts." The other informed quickly, a heavy accent that I just couldn't place a finger on.

The tall figure grinned evilly. "Do it," he decided.

"Uh, I thought we-" the voice started to protest.

"That's the best piece of revenge against Kane. Scramble up his son's head, I'd like to see him solve that." He laughed to the thought. "What do you think?" He seemed like he was directing the question to me now.

My lips refused to cooperate, and I instead let out a groan complaining of nausea from the fog in my head. "Herr Friedrich, you stated earlier that-"

"You moron, I said English only!" He snapped immediately.

"Sorry," he quickly coward.

"Get out, before you make another painful mistake." The buff figure was starting to gain a little more detail as the seconds pass.

A shorter figure walked past him, the sound of a heavy door closing behind him. Blue eyes peered at me now, which I realized now belonged to this weirdo. "What's your name?" He started coldly.

My bottom lip trembled, as if retraining itself. His expression hardened as he backed off a little. "In exchange, I'll give you mine, fair trade?"

"Why does it matter?" I barely managed, my voice sounding dry.

He smirked in response. "What if I told you it decides whether you are released or not?"

'Not' probably being something unpleasant, so I relented. "Amos."

His right eyebrow rose in response. "You don't seem like an Amos to me."

Is he calling me a liar? "What's your last name?" He continued.

That is where I was stumped, I didn't want to hand them the truth, knowing something was going on. But I was way too unfocused I couldn't think of a false name. So I remained quiet, earning a grin from the other. "Don't be shy."

"The deal was you exchange your name for mine." I reminded quickly as an excuse for more time to think.

He laughed in reply. "Okay then, the name's Torsten."

"Whatley," I finally threw out, noting I'll have to come up with a Nome along with it.

His smile faded, crossing his arms as he started to slowly pace circles around the chair. "If that's the case, why was Desjardins calling you Kane?"

"It's his way of venting. Kane irritates him to the point that he has to shove his anger at someone else-" I started.

He quickly pulled my head back, stopping me quickly as the back of the chair dug into the base of my neck. "Do you know a Julius Kane then?"

"Yes-" It's not like I can lie about that.

"Was he in your group?" He continued to interrogate.

"If you're meaning our squad, then yes."

He released my head, returning to pacing. "You must be of relation; you have similar features of a Kane."

Silence, which visibly irritated him. "Would you happen to _know_ where Kane is at the moment?"

I let out a small laugh. "Look, I don't even know how long I was out for. Also, you haven't given me your last name yet."

"Friedrich, and it's been three hours." He easily handed.

I thought for a moment before smiling to the thought. "He's probably running in circles in that cave you dragged me out of."

He stopped his pacing and gave me a weird look, wondering if I was being serious. "Do you know his father on a political level then?" He decided not to ask after all, moving on to his list of questions.

Political level? My eyes narrowed to the thought, getting finally an idea as to what is going on. "I'll take that as a yes then." Torsten smiled as he leaned against a metal table apparently set three feet in front of me. "That's good; perhaps _we_ can come to an agreement then?"

"Kane is the advisor of the Chief Lector, trying to threaten him is meaningless-" I started.

"Trust me; he will give in if we pull the right strings." Torsten acted certain.

Unfortunately, I know better. As a famous combat magician, he won't relent to rebels or even blackmail. Which cancels out the idea of him giving in to ransom for me. I could see it now, shrugging their words away and grumbling about how a magician in combat magic could get out once he woke up. Well sorry Dad, guess I will pay for it.

"How much do you want to be released?" Torsten suddenly asked.

I shot the moron a glare, which he smirked. "Allow me to place a deal between us then. You help me find his son, and you're free."

Wow, obviously this guy didn't do a very good job when it came towards checking my father's personal life. "Sorry, that's a no go." I replied hastily. "Though I suggest you _do_ let me go. The consequences might get quite ugly on your end."

That earned a laugh from the muscular man; I think he's German from the way his name sounds. "How old are you?"

"Just turned fifteen." I answered easily.

"And you're already talking smack? You think you can beat me?" A smirk formed again.

Obviously not physically, but if he would give me a second unbound I'm sure I could outsmart him. "I didn't speak of me doing the honors." I quickly pointed out.

"Desjardins happens to be below my ranking, there won't be any pummeling from him." He informed quickly, acting as if he already won. "I'm going to look your name up, see where that gets us." He decided aloud.

Though I _highly_ doubt the likelihood, I caught myself praying there was someone named Amos Whatley. Otherwise my trust is destroyed, and it won't matter what I say from there.

* * *

-Michel Desjardins-

As usual, Julius was reporting in the scrying bowl as I kept watch of the door, making sure no one decides to overhear. You're probably wondering why I let a seventeen-year-old do the reporting. It's simple really, I fucking hate the man we have to report to. All squadrons must report to Jabari Kane, the current advisor of Chief Lector Iskandar. If I even dare to report, I might attempt to fight him magically through the scrying bowl.

We stand on shaky ground as it is. Jabari is a renowned combat magician, and he thinks all worthy magicians are combat, the rest are simply weak. The only non-combat magician he actually treats well is Iskandar, but I believe that's because he would lose in a fight by a lift of the Chief Lector's index finger. Funny, seeing as Iskandar is a statuary magician, something his youngest is also talented in.

"Good work, I will see you tomorrow for your next assignment." The second most powerful magician's tone was awfully proud.

"Uh, how is it good work if it's a _false_ lead?" Julius questioned. "Also, Amos is missing."

"Discovering that they are false is good work, Julius." Jabari insisted, sounding somewhat bored.

Julius looked back to shoot me a roll of his eyes. I smirked to that, at least I can agree on something with him. "I have an interesting assignment for you next, involving _gods-_" Jabari continued.

I snorted to that, in our squadron he only handed us work in hopes to bring his oldest an opportunity for fame. If he had it his way, Julius would be his own group. The only reason why Amos and I are along for the ride is because Iskandar makes the squadron groups.

Julius frowned down at the bowl. "I'm not coming by anytime soon." He informed quickly.

"Why is that?" Jabari grew testy now.

Julius' posture slouched, as if wondering how his father could just ignore it. "Amos is _missing_." Julius repeated.

"Have you checked the Nome's library?" Jabari instantly dissed. "Perhaps he got spooked and ran-"

I watched Julius' right hand form into a fist, but under the bowl so his father couldn't see it. "Amos wouldn't do that-" Julius struggled to restrain his tone.

"Julius, sometimes you must deal with cowards. You just accept it and do the work without them." Jabari continued.

My grip on my staff tightened. Amos isn't a coward, he faces that imbécile every day, something _I_ can't bring myself to do. I could tell it was taking every power in Julius' nerves to restrain his anger. "Sorry, not only is he part of the group, but he's my brother. So Desjardins and I will be taking a few days off, find someone else."

Jabari's voice raised as Julius waved his hand over the bowl, ceasing the discussion as he turned to me now. "Where first?" He asked, as if to get his mind away from his father.

I managed a sad smile for him, feeling bad that I keep forcing him into talking with Jabari. "I suggest we go back, find anything that may help us narrow down our suspects." I offered quickly, which earned an abrupt nod from my fellow magician.

* * *

-Amos Kane-

It was tough at first, but I had managed to get Subira out of the Duat, making sure it was her with only the tips of my fingers. My heart was racing though; worried someone would come in during my escape. Subira is a shabti pharaoh hound, but I've noticed she isn't very violent unless it's last resort. And she's manifested into more of a pet rather than just a shabti, something the statuary teachers warn against.

I kept my eyes on the door; using every sense I can to decide when to release her from her clay form. This didn't really work too great with the adrenaline rush. I finally gave up and closed my eyes, focusing on Subira. "Please help," I whispered under my breath.

In seconds, she transformed from clay to warm fur, her head just resting above my wrists as she let out a small whimper. I smiled a little, hope starting to mix with my panic. "Can you pull the rope off?" I continued to whisper.

She lifted her head, gently placing her teeth around the thick rope keeping my wrists together. Her hot breath didn't mix well with the rope burning into my skin as she attempted to tug it off. The rope loosened after her fourth tug, letting the rope drop to the concrete floor. I quickly brought my hands in front of me to see the rope had left irritated marks on my wrists, otherwise they were okay.

Subira circled the chair and panted a little, awaiting her next orders as a loyal dog. I finally stood up to get hit with a wave of dizziness. It had settled after he left, but I guess not completely, as I found myself kneeling. Subira whimpered as she nudged my left arm out of urgency. After sitting there for what felt like a minute, I finally gathered my nerve to get up again, fighting the nausea as I grabbed a few more shabtis from my locker.

The Kane family dislikes the idea of using the Duat as storage space, stating it is far too risky. Well, is it better to come prepared than not? As it is right now, I have a whole army of shabtis, my staff and wand, and three bookshelves full of scrolls at my disposal. All Julius would have in this situation is brute force.

I pulled out Bomani, a warrior shabti that I recently made but had yet to try on the field. Well, the basics of said shabti are to look mean and pull off what Julius can. And, to be safe, Lisimba, a shabti lion that I hesitate to ever use simply because I lack faith in cats. And you can't forget the staff and wand, because I was sure I will have to fight my way out.

Bomani appeared even taller than the door, which I took as a good sign. Subira insisted to stick to my side for her next orders, Lisimba awaiting orders as well despite seeming tense. With my next set of orders, Bomani easily tore off the wooden door. Lisimba entering the cold hallway as to clear it out as Subira stood as my bodyguard, finally entering the hallway after Bomani managed to get through.

So far, luck was on my side, no one was around for an abrupt attack. Lisimba took charge in leading the way, I didn't really want to follow but Bomani did. Subira kept to my side, as if stating she would be there no matter what, which actually did boost my confidence a little.

It's kind of hard to see them as just clay figures. Being a statuary magician means more than just being good at making shabtis. You pretty much pour a piece of your heart into the work, and it becomes difficult to allow them into dangerous situations. They become a secondary family, which is apparently something everyone vexes as trouble waiting to brew. The way I see it, if you show respect to their work instead of just peering down at them as tools, they _won't_ attack you.

Lisimba let out a roar, echoing down the cold concrete walls of the hall. Bomani jumped into action with the lion before I could process that we have finally come across someone. Subira still insisted to stand beside me, snarling a threat.

Sudden yelling sounded off, nothing I could catch as I noticed smoke pouring into the hall now from where the lion and giant clay warrior were fighting. The wild slashing of a sword through the air mixed with the snarling of the albino lion before us. I mentally prepared myself for a fight, a list of spells I could remember being reviewed thoroughly as good spells to enter with.

First the shield, blue encompassing Subira and I as I watched the smoke start to cover the entire hall, making it difficult to see. However, I couldn't miss the bright orange fireball throwing Lisimba into the wall. But the cat pulled through, growling as he shook off brunt fur before launching into the mass smoke that still left me blind as to the situation. At least I now have an idea as to where the smoke came from.

Heat quickly crept into the goose bumps that had formed hours ago. More yelling in a different language, though I think I caught the word statuary. This was followed by a sudden explosion almost throwing me off balance. The burst of flames brought a blinding light into the once dark hall, and I caught myself coughing to the excessive smoke.

"Finde ihn jetzt! Wenn er entkommt, sind deine Köpfe ganz meine! " The hoarse voice sounded vaguely familiar.

In the confusion, I found myself face to face with a blonde woman, dark amber eyes as she immediately blasted my shield with fire. I quickly noted it was just Subira and I left if I was fighting the same fire elementalist. "Ich habe ihn!" She screamed out above the sizzling of my shield.

Subira jumped out to launch at the woman, going for her throat. She quickly smacked her staff against the pharaoh hound's head, earning a small yelp. I felt my throat tighten to see her thrown at the wall too.

Then I started to question what I was doing just standing here, using a shield to defend myself from furnace lady of the year. I quickly summoned water with the word I grew accustomed to thanks to Kyra, fighting her with an opposite element. Though I was starting to get quite exhausted from it, making me wish I were an elementalist instead.

The nausea won the skirmish, which I almost forgot about until it brought its vengeance. She took advantage of this and blasted the shield again, dissolving it before I could recover. Subira jumped at her again, earning a quick fireball to dissolve into ash.

The smoke was thick, making it hard to breathe as I found myself on my knees again. I caught a blur of pink before my neck constricted. I struggled to make a move to claw at whatever it was to find I couldn't, choking on the heavy air. My throat screamed at me for relief, my vision swimming as two heavy footsteps echoed against the concrete I was laying on. "Tas," his voice commanded, releasing the hold against my throat.

I immediately choked for air, finding it difficult to even do. Once I managed to stop coughing, I finally took in two polished black boots an inch before my face. "Well then, since we cleared that up, do you think you'll attempt an escape again?" He snarled.

I didn't answer, my vision threatened to black out the faster everything spun. A boot lifted, applying force to the right side of my face as if to show off. I winced to the cold floor I was forced to squeeze my head against by his right foot, speaking in what is probably German. Then everything started to quickly darken, the last image I saw was of the clay remints of Subira a few feet away.

* * *

When I woke up again, I planned different ideas as to destroying the Ribbons of Hathor. Hathor is now going into my book of bad marks. Why would a Goddess of love make something so difficult to get out of? I could see her other side doing this, with the exception that she would rather kill instead.

The heavy door opened, creaking a little thanks to a hinge not firmly set when they fixed it. Torsten entered, which I took in that he has dark burnet hair, and his complexion is only slightly darker than the walls. I really don't know how I didn't catch that earlier.

"So, Amos _Whatley_?" His tone tested.

My heart pounded, taking in that I was out of luck completely. He smirked to my expression now. "You did try to pull a fast one on me, _Kane_, I'll give you that. Even the little show you gave us, I didn't think a statuary magician would fit into the great family."

I kept silent, fearing that talking will probably strike anger. "But at least you have a purpose, so I can't slaughter you for your escape. We'll be sending your father a message for political ransom. If you value living, I expect you stay put. You listen to me, I'll treat you like a friend, you understand?"

My eyes narrowed to his attempt, which he just laughed in amusement. "Don't forget, I can easily have the Ribbons cause your death for me."

Strangled, I'm sure my father would find it humorous. I gave up on telling the moron how off he is about trying to get him to do anything; it'll just aggravate the situation. Though I was planning to pummel this guy soon enough, pissed off to the three shabtis they slaughtered. Even put my wand and staff on the table before me, meant to tease that I failed miserably.

My next attempt will have to be more detailed, but at least I have a basic idea of what to expect. Though a sad layout of the way out, still not sure if the lion was sniffing the enemy out instead.

"So, think we have a deal?" Torsten asked, grinning as if he was suddenly crowned king of his shitty little hideout built of concrete.

I held back any retort and simply nodded. Torsten reached out to pat his right hand to my head. "I may even consider removing the Ribbons if you are good enough."

That would make my next attempt ten times easier. On the other hand, he could be just saying that so I hold off in hopes that he will remove them. Ugh, I'm starting to confuse myself now. "Don't be scared, I don't want to present myself as a threat." Torsten continued. "You can speak; I won't harm you for voicing your opinions."

Bullshit, Julius and I would both win on that count. He went from laughing at everything I said to suddenly wanting me to talk? If I say one little thing, the Ribbons will tighten. He wants to make sure I know how much lower he placed me.

I kept silent, which Torsten frowned. But instead of saying anything, he observed my staff. "Been years since I last saw a staff of such nice quality." He complimented, holding it in both of his hands to take it in better. "You're lucky; fifteen-year-olds don't get anything this fancy usually. Your father must adore you to fashion it."

I kept quiet still, though struggling to tell him how wrong he actually is. In fact, I was handed it due to Michel's insistence. Though I'll admit that Julius and I are lucky to even be in a squadron. Due to our father's insistence for Julius to be in one, Iskandar decided to throw Michel and I into the group. Maybe it was the Chief Lector's way of irritating my father, or maybe he truly thought Julius would be better off with the two of us alongside him.

* * *

-Michel Desjardins-

Nadia Kane, mother of the Kane brothers and wife of that horrid Jabari Kane. She's a decent woman, though I'm curious as to what she sees in her husband. Julius was talking with her into the scrying bowl, the same one we had finished reporting to Jabari on an hour ago.

"Oh Julius, your father has _many_ enemies." Nadia continued with a motherly tone. "But why are you interested in that?"

"Uh, it's just interest." Julius quickly lied, though I'll admit it was a horrible lie.

Nadia waited for a better excuse, which made me start cracking up. "Where's Amos?" She suddenly asked. "I see Desjardins is with you…"

"He's currently taking a basic lesson in Russian." That was better, and I managed to cool off from my hysterics, remembering my dark dread for the youngest Kane.

"Well, recently your father discovered a former close friend as a leader for a rebel group somewhere in Germany." Nadia recalled thoughtfully. "He's nervous about it, but hasn't really drawn much attention to it-"

My eyes lit up suddenly. "You mean Friedrich?" I piped up now, earning a glance from Julius.

"Yes! That's the name, something about him being the third most powerful magician." Nadia continued.

My expression grew dark, Julius not taking kindly to my reaction. "Okay, thanks Mom."

"Oh, before you go?" Nadia piped up quickly. "Tell Amos that girl he's been talking to showed up last night. She was with a friend, but she seemed anxious to talk. I told her your squadron was currently on an assignment." She quickly informed.

"You mean Caroline and Ruby?" Julius asked, now a little edgy.

"Yes, sorry I keep forgetting their names-" She apologized quickly.

"What did they say exactly?" Julius's tone sounded panicky.

"They wouldn't say, just said they were worried. Maybe you should call them up, make sure the air is clear between the four of you." Nadia suggested.

"Thanks, I'll do that right away." Julius reassured.

The image faded, leaving Julius and I to talk. "Um, I want to ask you but I need to see-" Julius started.

"Go ahead Kane, I can wait." Though if it is him, I highly doubt your brother can.

* * *

-Julius Kane-

I waited until Michel dismissed himself to contact Ruby. I would call Caroline, but I know she is still edgy towards me since we met. Besides, if it's actually something making them anxious, it's probably something Ruby saw as a Diviner.

Her blue eyes peered up at me in seconds. "Julius! Are you okay?"

"Yep," now I was really getting concerned. "I heard that you and Caroline paid the Twenty-First Nome a visit last night."

"Yes we did… Julius, where's Amos?" She seemed scared to even ask.

"Uh, currently studying Russian." I kept up to the lie I already handed my mother.

Ruby seemed nervous now, not helping me continue to ask. "Ruby, what is it?"

She closed her eyes for a second before facing me again, looking hurt. "I had a vision last night, involving you and Amos."

I perked up to that; maybe she can help me find him? "What happened in it, don't leave any details out."

Her jaw clenched before sighing. "I'm not entirely sure, not all visions are solid. There was fire everywhere; I'm not sure where you were. And all I saw was you screaming at your brother, but he didn't even seem to recognize your words." She suddenly sucked on her bottom lip.

"Ruby, what happened?" I quietly urged, not sure I really _did_ want to know.

"I think you were trying to wake him up, Julius. I'm not sure what happened, but he didn't respond no matter what you did-" Ruby suddenly burst into tears, not being able to control it now.

I struggled to continue, fearing what she was saying but I needed to confirm it. "Are you saying that Amos died in your vision?" My head throbbed painfully to the idea.

She managed a sigh before answering. "Like I said, I'm not sure. It ended to a woman with gold hair, she didn't look very friendly."

I sighed and made a quick mental note of it. "Trust me, it won't happen. Alright-"

She cut me short, panic and anger. "Julius, just because I say it's not certain _doesn't_ mean it won't happen!"

"Okay, _calm_ down-"

"Don't go on your assignment, it's too risky. I don't care what it is, just don't-" Her tears were overwhelming her now.

Now I felt like I needed to break the truth. "Um, Ruby, we're not preparing for an assignment." I hesitated, which gained some of her interest. "We pretty much wrapped it up this morning, actually. Um… Right now Michel and I are hunting down Amos…" The possibility of my brother dying was completely throwing me off now, my chest wrenched to the thought.

Her eyes widened, fear as her mouth just stood open, not sure how to react. "It won't happen, alright? Calm down-"

"Bring backup," she demanded quickly.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck with my right hand. "Look, the only way a squadron can ask for support is through my Dad." I informed.

Her eyes lit up, hope that was misled. "The thing is, my father doesn't believe in giving our group help. He thinks we can work it out," switch 'we' with 'me'.

"Does he know?" She snapped, that hope in her eyes quickly dissolved into rage.

I closed my eyes, irritation directed towards my father. "He refused to accept the fact; he thinks Amos ran off during our assignment-"

"You sure you were talking to your father?" She asked critically.

"Yes Ruby, any other person would actually be genuinely worried." I opened my eyes to see her muttering something now. "It won't happen, thank you for telling me." I shot her a smile as her eyes saddened, looking practically helpless.

"Avoid blondes, Julius." This was kind of funny seeing it coming out of a blonde's mouth.

"Awe, but that means I can't harass you!" I joked, which she realized her mistake.

"You _know_ what I mean!" She immediately snapped, though visible heat illuminated her cheeks. "Come home once you find him, got it? We all need a piece of mind on this."

"Don't worry, we'll come home, I swear it." I reassured, which some of her tension loosened in her shoulders.

She nodded, eyes still sad as if she wanted to give me a hug goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow." I smirked before waving over the bowl, dissolving her into the oil.

I hesitated, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath in a quick attempt to relax. Now my head built the image up for me, and I started to get sick to the thought. Nevertheless, I forced myself to leave the room, stepping into the hall to see Michel waiting patiently. "Alright, who's this Friedrich guy?"

Desjardins crossed his arms, not seeming very happy about it. "Friedrich was renowned for his work alongside your father several years ago. Roughly when your father was forty."

"Two hundred and sixty years ago, got it." I nodded for him to continue.

He seemed edgy now, but forced himself to continue. "Friedrich was the third most powerful magician until he was banished for torturing an innocent magician in cold blood. I'm not sure as to what happened for said magician to be put in that situation, all I know was the ending result wasn't pretty."

_Oh no… and he has my brother…_ My fear grabbed hold of my eyes. "And now he's holding up in Germany with a gang of rebels."

"It's not surprising that he is the leader either, he's a very skilled combat magician." Michel laid out a deadly warning in his eyes that I accepted with a nod. "We need to investigate this, and hopefully Amos will not be there."

But my heart sank, telling me that he might actually be there, alone with a bloodthirsty freak. "Where in Germany do you think we should start?" I asked next, doing my best to push aside the images racing through my head.

Michel hesitated now. "Torsten Friedrich is originally from Hamburg; I suggest we portal there and figure it out from there."

* * *

-Amos Kane-

Fourth tug finally died down, letting me gasp for air as my hands shook violently. "Look, Torsten, I won't be falling for this 'pity' trap you're attempting. You were banished for killing a suspect, you must accept the way you formed your path-" My father's hoarse voice stood strong, unrelenting, through the bowl as the German snarled.

"Is this actually your son?" Friedrich snapped, pissed off to seeing his plans fall right through his fingers.

Jabari, which stands for brave in Egyptian, frowned. "He has been born into the family as a curse upon us. You can do whatever you wish-"

Torsten turned to face me, as if wondering if I had proof to verify this 'curse'. "You don't even flinch, Jabari." Torsten smirked to the thought as he spoke the order again, allowing the ribbon to tighten around my throat again.

In the struggling, my eyes started to water to the pain, my throat going raw in its protest as my vision threatened to blackout again. I found myself practically hoping I do pass out, even if it actually meant death. Anything to get it to stop...

It loosened again, giving me another tortured session of gasping the dusty air out of panic, throat stinging to each inhale. "You don't even feel slight empathy?" Torsten asked.

My entire body shook, wanting to just collapse to the floor as I struggled to keep myself on my knees. I didn't dare look back at him, all I'll get will be cold eyes telling me again why I'm a disappointment. "I'll do it," I struggled to breathe out, a small stab to each word.

Torsten blinked out of shock that I spoke up, though it was simply a pleaded whisper to their conversation. "Do what?" He asked out of amusement.

"Whatever it is you want from him, I'll do it." My right hand clenched into a fist to the sharp pain from the back of my mouth.

Torsten laughed, pacing until he abruptly stopped to my right, taking in my shaking form. "You'll pardon my name and allow me into the Per Ankh?" He kneeled beside me, cupping my chin with his left hand, forcing me to look up.

He seemed royally pissed off, as if ready to hand me a lecture or punch the hell out of the bowl he was currently pacing in front of. "Only the Chief Lector can do that, Amos." Torsten started. "Your father is in the position to urge it to fall through. What power do you have towards the Chief Lector?" He asked me now as my eyes still watered to the pain.

"Don't you fucking do that." The great Jabari Kane snapped, eyes darting around as if taking in everyone in the room. "You are speaking to a Kane, Friedrich; don't think you can talk down to any of us."

"Oh," Torsten laughed as he finally dropped his hand, "now you decide to show weakness. Took a lot out of poor Amos here, he's shaking quite a bit-"

"You don't give a shit, stop pretending." He continued pacing, both hands in a tight fist as if seriously contemplating beating the hell out of Torsten's image.

I blinked painfully in an attempt to clear up the hazy image. Is that stress he's emanating? "We finally at an agreement, Kane?" Torsten asked, standing up again, but keeping beside me as if to be a vivid threat.

He stopped pacing for a second, which I locked eyes with him to see an order clearly written in his. _You're in trouble if you fucking die._ I wanted to cry to the thought, how could he demanded that from me? He's always given me the cold shoulder, that look was the warmest thing I've ever gotten from him.

"No," his voice sent an electric vibe to Torsten's figure.

"What a shame," Torsten sounded seriously disappointed. "Well, do you prefer I send you pieces of your son back? Perhaps each month, start with a finger, then the next might be a toe-"

My stomach twisted, noting said man might actually be ill enough to do it. "Herr Friedrich," my father's voice boomed in the room, and concrete apparently is excellent in bouncing sound waves rather than absorbing it. "With the way you've contorted your thinking, you won't even get a friendly greeting from Anubis."

"We run out of threats already?" Torsten laughed as he paced around me, playing up his lingering threat left unspoken.

My father growled out of annoyance. Annoyance to restraining his retorts in fear of how I'll be affected. "Iskandar won't even give you a second chance, Friedrich. You killed a suspect to the Orleans massacre."

"I already told you, he was the criminal mind-" Torsten insisted.

"We don't kill over that." My father snarled. "Servants of Ma'at don't perform homicide in cold blood. You even tortured him-"

The horrid word escaped his lips again, my hands panicking in their want to pull the pink ribbon away as it enclosed my throat. "Oh Jabari, do you feel proud of yourself?" Torsten's voice I could barely register through my fight to breathe.

"Don't think I will let you get away with this," he retorted, letting his rage roll off his tongue now.

The ribbons loosened, allowing me to rush the corrupted air into my lungs, finally collapsing to the floor as I winced to each heave. "What do _you_ think Amos?" Torsten suddenly asked, grinning towards me as I barely took him in, vision blurring.

I swallowed, preparing for the stabbing again. "You're pathetic…"

He only laughed, amused. "Hmm, says the kid readying to meet Anubis himself." He kneeled again, smiling down at me. "Tell me, are you praying to the Gods?"

Silence as I squinted my eyes, my head feeling extremely light. "Do you feel big picking on a fifteen-year-old?" I managed to ask, voice breaking in between my gasps.

His gaze hardened, I feared him to do it again, but he simply sighed, waving the thought away. Instead, he stood up again, facing the image of my father that now outreached my sight. "I don't think he can take anymore Jabari," Torsten tone laughed.

"I will personally come down there and beat the shit out of you, Friedrich. Until you start pleading for death, and I'll leave you in that same room that you're standing in!" His voice sounded weaker than his usual boastful tone. "You'll wish you've never even crossed me, or even considered the idea of talking to me tonight."

"We're still not relenting?" Torsten sighed out of agitation. "Do you require that I actually kill him?"

My eyelids grew heavy, but I struggled to fight the urge to pass out. A sudden pull on the ribbon from a big hand yanked me up from the floor, forcing me back on my knees as I choked to the torque. "Cease this!" A woman's voice suddenly yelled from behind me.

The ribbon loosened a little, my entire body shaking numbingly as my head completely fogged over. "Sabrina, I suggest you stand back." Torsten's voice sounded from the figure before me, gripping the pink bond.

A familiar female figure entered my vision of blurred colors, suddenly making a grab for the German's hands. "He doesn't deserve this; he has nothing to do with your struggles with Kane." She insisted.

A quick yank made me wince, clasping my right hand on the rope in a desperate attempt to fight back. "Stop!" She pleaded still, doing her best to get him to let go.

Something happened as I choked on the air again. The ribbon loosened completely as the two stared at each other. Torsten is obviously taller than she is, could probably put her in the same predicament.

"We'll discuss this again, Kane." Torsten reassured as I collapsed again, vision darkening to my eyelids.

* * *

-Julius Kane-

We stopped on the outskirts of Hamburg, building a fire for the night. I was exhausted, but I feared to close my eyes. The faint image of Ruby's vision was threatening to come into full force from the back of my mind, my hands shook a little to the thought. It wasn't better knowing that Amos might actually be in the hands of a murderer.

Michel looked like he wanted to say something, but repeatedly talked it down to himself. "Maybe we'll find it tomorrow." I tried to raise morale.

Michel muttered something in French, probably cursing or disagreeing with me. "We need to find a local." Michel spoke up in English, looking up from the small fire to face me. "Someone is bound to know where not to walk, that will be where the rebels are hiding."

I nodded in understanding, doing my best to hide my anxiety. "Michel," I hesitated to ask, but it was bothering me to no end. "Do you think Amos is alive?"

Michel's expression fell immediately to my words, taking in what was troubling me. "Yes, he'll do whatever a Kane will do to keep alive. Because he knows someone is looking for him." He nodded as if he was trying to reassure himself of that.

"Not our father though…" My tone turned to loathing, thinking of how he just shrugged it off again.

"He doesn't need your father," Michel's eyes hardened, "he needs us."

Now my arms started to shake, on the verge of breaking down. Michel noted it with his eyes, desperately restraining himself from asking what was on my mind. "Um, Desjardins…" I hesitated again. "I know we're not very close-"

He rolled his eyes now. "I think otherwise, but continue." He voiced.

I sighed, trying to weigh the pros and cons of telling him about Ruby's vision. "How accurate are Diviner visions?"

His right eyebrow rose in response. "Usually spot on, hence why they're Diviners."

Shit, I shouldn't have asked that. "Why, what's bothering you?" Michel asked after seconds of silence, the image of flames flickering brightly came up viciously.

I swallowed, peering back at the older magician. "Ruby had a vision last night, about Amos and I."

Michel shifted now, getting uncomfortable thoughts already. "She didn't go into much detail, just said we were standing amongst flames. I was screaming at him, trying to get him to wake up, but he never responded back," I started to choke, holding back fearful tears.

Michel's mouth dropped open; eyes grew wide as he got the picture. "No, Kane." He immediately fixed his expression after a second. "Visions are spot on, but they can vary in meaning. Your brother won't perish, I promise that."

"But if he's there-" My voice broke as I continued.

"There's a reason if he is there. Torsten doesn't eradicate just because he can." Michel immediately went into explaining.

"What possible reasoning is there to hand us a fake complaint and kidnap my brother?" I snapped out, hands balled up into tight fists. "Why can't my father have someone back us up too? Just…" I broke down; sobbing and I started to hate myself for it.

"Julius," Michel whispered, trying to sound comforting but it just wasn't working for me. "Right now, Amos is probably safe. The only possible idea I have as to Friedrich abducting him is for political dominance. We'll find this hideout and take our anger out on each of them, alright?"

Water stung through my eyelids as I tried to hold it back, trying to be strong for the group. What is there to even be strong for? It's just Desjardins, who considers me pretty much an arrogant combat magician following his dad's footsteps. I didn't need to, Amos wasn't here for me to support from it. He must be terrified, panicking…

I snapped out of it as a heavy blanket dropped over my shoulders. I looked up to see Michel shoot me a sympathizing sad smile. "It'll be cold tonight."


	7. Rescue and Recovery

**This is Amos' rescue/recovery from Torsten.**

* * *

-Michel Desjardins-

I guess I should describe this horrid building for you… It's pretty much all concrete, rarely a torch to light the way. A cold hideout for rebels to sit out in. A good place to confuse a hostage in a stupor. A better place to slaughter and never even have said prey be discovered.

I stopped myself short before I could seriously consider this being what was inflicted on the youngest of our trio. He had to be alive, he's a Kane. He might not have the brute force of a combat magician, but he won't go down without a fight either.

Julius peered around the corner before gesturing me to follow his lead into another fucking concrete hall. Would it kill them to perhaps tag a wall or two?

Julius seemed like he agreed with an exasperated huff. "Where the Thoth is their chambers?"

"They won't be in here, only locked doors to maybe another cold room filled with concrete." I started quickly. "This is obviously a rebel hideout, so watch your step."

A head of a woman peered into the hall with alarm written in her expression. I guess Julius and I don't appear like the rebel type. She darted away, and in seconds an alarm blared through, reverberating violently against the walls that I seriously thought would crash on top of us.

Apparently it was sturdier than I figured as we picked up the pace, Julius no longer bothering with looking around the corner. I pulled my staff and wand out, readying for a good fight as Julius yanked his kopesh and wand out.

When it comes to Julius, kopesh equals pissed off whereas staff equals wary. I do admit though, Julius taking his anger out with each swing of his arm gets very affective results. He's a fantastic combat magician, and even a better person than his old man.

A wooden door creaked, Julius' arm raised as a hand shot to grip his wrist. Both of us froze as a somewhat familiar figure darted his eyes around the hall. "We done trying to kill everything we see?" He grinned towards us as he released his grip finally.

Julius lowered his arm, eyes eagerly taking in his brother. "First swing," he confirmed.

Amos frowned quickly. "A little more force to it then?" He quickly suggested. "You're on time; I just got warmed up for the party crashing."

I didn't like what I could assess on him. He really looked fine with the exception for the hair being somewhat disordered and a small amount of filth built up. But my eyes stopped on a visible bruise encompassing the middle of his throat, just above the Adam's apple.

Julius must have overlooked it as his posture straightened, deciding he needs to play up his role as big brother. "Where to first?" He asked Amos now.

"Yes, because the hostage knows the _entire_ layout of the building." Amos rolled his eyes. "Shit, I barely found a fatal flaw in that asshole's personality." He gestured back to the room he is standing before.

Julius and I peered in to find a burnet male lying cataleptic in the middle of the room; Ribbons of Hathor constrained his wrists and neck slackly. My eyes enlarged as I faced him again, the pieces falling into place. "Our best chance is heading down the way you two got here-" Amos continued despite his brother's expression of incredulity.

"Can't, avalanche is covering it." I summed up.

Amos blinked at me for a second. "That better not be our only exit." Julius complained loudly.

"Keep it down," I hiss quickly.

"I think the alarm gave us away." Julius snapped from stress.

Amos seemed to distance himself from the current discussion mentally. "They'll find us even better with your attitude problem." I continued to enlighten.

A surge of concrete blasted at us, making us instantaneously shield our faces as it scattered all over the hall. "Well, you did end up proving useful." A very old memory spoke up, grinning towards Amos as the fifteen-year-old panicked, instantly clutching two shabtis from the air and smashing them to the floor.

It turned out that they were the pale bull and fighting shabti of his. The bull instantly rammed into Friedrich, the fighting shabti heeding to Amos' whispered instructions before leaping into the fight with the bull. "Don't just fucking glare at me, you two know already." Amos snapped, obviously distressed. "Let's at least get the hell out of _this_ hall. We need to find Sabrina."

Julius and I followed, mainly because we didn't want to lose Amos from our sight again. Oh no, we did not go all this way just to lose him again. Though I _really_ wanted to know how the hell he picked up summoning two shabtis at once, I kept quiet as Julius did the same, Amos peering around wildly as if the walls might help him find what he's looking for.

"Who's Sabrina?" Julius finally asked.

A door opened to expose a woman of roughly twenty-five years with pale complexion, blue eyes, and blonde hair in a knot on top of her head. "_That_ is Sabrina," Amos answered quickly. "_Sabrina, we're leaving, come with us._"

Julius evidently tensed as I took in that he was speaking French and she understood. "_This is your rescue party?_" She judged as she took Julius and I in.

Amos grew a little irritated to that. "_They're my squadron; I already told you he wasn't going to do anything. Now, we need help out, and I know you don't want to stay here-_"

"Amos," Julius immediately placed his right hand on his brother's left shoulder, pulling him back a little. "Don't trust her, we need to get out."

Amos yanked his brother's grip away, facing her with pleading eyes. "_You said we've gone through the same thing, Laflamme. I figured it out, kind of… Anyways, this is your chance out of here, you need to take it._"

She grew a bit bothered before sighing. She then extended her right arm down the hall. "_Continue down this hall, and then take the fourth left, follow that until you reach the dead end._" She pulled her staff out as she rambled the directions off quickly, as if she had perhaps considered getting out herself.

Amos cringed to the staff before continuing. "_You're coming with-_"

"_Thanks for the invite, Kane._" She smiled slightly towards him. "_However, you need a distraction for Torsten if you want to succeed._"

My ears were ringing to the sudden pour-over of information. Laflamme? It was a Laflamme that Friedrich had executed and claimed to have been the perpetrator to the Orleans massacre. Why would he tolerate one here? At that time, she would have been about eight.

And Amos made it sound like she didn't like being in her position. And her replies helped me conclude that he was correct. Hell, I don't think he actually knows what he's really doing, otherwise he would be hung up on the explosion of information.

Amos began to protest, explaining the two shabtis he already unleashed on Friedrich when I interrupted. "_We'll come back for you, Madam Laflamme._" I promised quickly, which she smiled towards me before heading down the way we came.

I had to force Amos to not go after her, keeping in his path as he grew flustered. "Julius, she said we follow this hall until the fourth left, and then follow that and we should find our plan B." Like we even had a plan A for crying out loud.

Julius nodded and quickly yanked on Amos' left shoulder, which he finally gave in and followed, I kept to the rear of this mad dash to our exit. Julius made quick work of anyone that stepped into the hall, not using the blade but rather the hilt of his khopesh. I suppose that is a better way of taking your stress out than cutting them into pieces.

We reached the conclusion of the hall as Julius immediately looked up to find it to be like an attic door rather than a typical entrance we had come from. "Uh, don't suppose this is blocked too, eh?" Julius peered over at me as I gazed at it, trying to decide if this was the best route or not.

"Only way to find out," I unlocked the door with the divine word.

Snow collapsed on top of Julius, earning an eyebrow rise from his brother. "Where the hell are we?" He finally snapped, confusion getting the best of him.

Julius shook the majority of the snow off as he looked up at the slab of snow. "Hey Amos, I don't suppose you could melt this snow-"

"Uh no, Amos has been confined for five days. Once he adjusts back to usual life, _then_ we can think about him using divine words again." I rejected as I pulled my wand out, intoning fire.

"What do you know, he trusts you just as much as he trusts me," Julius grinned towards his little brother, who was still wondering where the hell he was.

Unfortunately, melting the snow only loosened up how packed it was; slop falling to the concrete floor beneath as a small rumble rolled a rock right on top of the entrance. "Ookay then… Plan C anyone?" Julius quickly waved the idea away.

"You hand yourself over," Torsten's voice completely froze us, both Kane brothers facing behind me as I completely refused to turn around. "Didn't I tell you Kane? There's no chance of escape-"

"You're this infamous Friedrich guy, aren't you?" Julius snarled, brown fire aimed over my left shoulder. "The one who decided it would be cool to strangle my brother?"

Okay, I guess he did see it. Amos immediately shrunk a second, as if he thought he hid it pretty well to find out otherwise. Torsten abruptly laughed in reply, the sound of metal scraping against concrete. "Julius Kane, has your brother told you that you were our intentional target? But we found out with our little mistake that we _really_ didn't know your father that well."

My eyes narrowed to the youngest, which he simply ignored as he pulled his staff and wand out from his 'safe' as he calls it. Julius' teeth grinded, observing the adversary in full detail as I finally decided to turn.

Gods of Egypt, Friedrich is by far eerier seeing in person than in the brief portrayals Iskandar had given me. Not saying he resembles a Nazi, but his eyes were similar to Sekhmet's, bloodthirsty. "So, here's the deal," Torsten allowed his German accent to shine a little more. "I'll allow Desjardins out, so long as the two of you turn yourselves in quietly-"

"Hey, Fried-chicken," Julius snapped, "you really think I'm that ignorant to let my brother stay in your bloodstained hands? Fuck you!"

Smooth Julius; annoy the enemy, that's your best move in _every_ _single fight_. At least this time he decided not to allow him to retort, instead launching at him, khopesh slashing the air between them as Torsten just took steps back, dodging each strike. Shit, this guy really is above us. I'm sure he has to be if he supposedly fought alongside Jabari for as long as they did.

Even worse, I could tell Amos was drained; he wasn't going to be of much help. But he maintained to cover his brother with minor spells, ones that Torsten managed to block easily. He was still dodging Julius' rapid and frustrated venting.

I thought my attack over, deciding it was risky considering the avalanche over our heads. But it was the best chance to slip from this moron before any of us end up dead. I slammed my staff to the ground, the concrete cracked alongside the wall to the ceiling.

Amos was the first to stop to the rumbling, Julius stopped to snow dropping between the small amount of space between Torsten and himself. Torsten grinned, suddenly raising his khopesh. In the disarray of the few seconds, Amos quickly formed a shield around us, Friedrich's sword harmlessly bouncing off it a millisecond before the snow and rocks collapsed the concrete.

* * *

-Julius Kane-

Man, sorry I let Monsieur Frenchdude describe that, he is really boring when it comes to combat details. And he ruins the fun in close combat. It probably goes along with his hate on combat magicians in the first place (cough, Dad…)

Anyways, thank Thoth that my brother is a professional in shields; otherwise I'm pretty sure Fried-chicken's sword would have sliced my skull like butter. Though I don't think he did it to save me the hit, it was for us to survive the pour-in from the ceiling.

Everything went blank, and I think ten seconds passed when a rather large boulder struck my right side. I let out a yelp, but my arm and chest adapted by going numb thanks to the snow. Twenty seconds, still in the snow, but it seemed to have stopped rolling. I decided to attempt to dig myself out.

Let me tell you that quickly became a chore. My right arm didn't want to cooperate, and my chest throbbed to each time I moved my right side at all. But I forced myself to continue digging, biting my lower lip as the taste of iron lingered on my tongue.

I broke the white to face a bright ray of light from the sun, making my eyes wince to the sting of it. Shit, I was only underground for about half an hour, I'm quickly turning into a vampire at this rate. I used my sword to break the rest of the snow away until I could pop my head above the surface.

I waited a second to take in I was the only one that managed to get up here. "Guys?" I yelled out, readying to use my khopesh as a chisel in this packed snow to rescue the rest of the squadron.

No response, so I started to dig my sword into the snow before me, working to get myself above the snowbank. Once I got my shoulders above, the snow shifted three feet ahead of me. I waited, ready in case it was that arrogant German again. White hair popped up as I noted who it was. He gasped in the mountain air once he could, taking in his surroundings like I had. "Did you see Amos?" He immediately asked me after five seconds.

"No, otherwise he'd be up here, you?" I redirected the question.

Michel shook his head, "I only saw him for a few seconds after it broke through." He admitted quickly, now working on getting himself out of the snow.

"That was the dumbest thing you could have thought up." I snapped quickly, irritated by the lack of warning.

"I was _thinking_ along the lines of saving our asses from becoming gore in that dead-end of a hall." Michel defended quickly. "You can thank me later."

"I have no intention of doing such, not unless I know Amos is okay." I watched the snow in hopes that something might shift to show him finally emerging, but nothing.

"Give him a moment, he'll dig himself out." Michel reassured, but his eyes told me he thought otherwise.

We worked on freeing ourselves, sitting on top of the snow as we waited for any signs. Nothing still, three minutes passed already. My eyes urgently searched for _anything_ that could possibly point the general spot he's in, but no luck in that department either. "Oh fuck, I'm digging for him." I failed to hide my worry from Desjardins, Michel simply nodded and decided to follow suit.

I'm not losing him, not after all the bullshit Michel and I went through to even get here. Ruby's vision I want to step on and choke to death on its own. Nothings taking him from me, not a German, not a blonde suspiciously on good terms with my brother, not the Goddamn snow either.

* * *

-Amos Kane-

I think I blacked out after a few seconds of holding the shield. I woke up to find myself in an air bubble in the snow. Oh great, just what I need next, get refrigerated by a fucking avalanche of snow. Just breathing melted a little of the snow two centimeters away from my face. The thought quickly made me claustrophobic, and I start thinking of how to get out of this.

Once I decided clawing some space in front of me might help, I felt some snow shift from below me. I simply started to work on clawing my hands a little more space to work with, ignoring the fact that my fingers quickly became numb and inhaling was making me shiver. I halted once I felt the snow suddenly pick up the pace below me, and the next second I found myself collapsing into what looked like a small tunnel.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the engineer of said tunnel was thrilled to seeing one of us. I swallowed, finding myself trapped hanging upside down in the 'roof' of his little hole he started to build himself. "Well, thank you for doing me the honors." Torsten grinned, quickly approaching, his sword's blade frosty from the cold air being exchanged between the snow and us.

I found myself confined, not able to shift any snow as he raised his sword, "If I go down, one of you will fall with me." He announced greedily.

I gasped in the icy air as his sword readied to slam into my ribs as he kept his hands steady. In the second I saw him pull back to deal the blow, a sudden explosion erupted from behind me, shifting the snow into a blur. A sharp pain in my chest overwhelmed my thoughts, not really taking in that I had rolled out of a massive amount of slosh.

I groaned, trying to piece out what happened when I found myself staring up at the ceiling of the building again. Gods, at this rate I might as well go steal myself lunch from one of the rebels and head back to the room I left their colleague in earlier. I moved a little for the discomfort to get devastatingly worse, earning a moan as my hand glided my chest.

That's when I finally pieced out what it was, my right hand feeling the frosty hilt sticking out. "Shit…" I cursed in an attempt to ease the pang, warning myself not to make any abrupt movements.

"Kane!" Torsten's voice screamed in outrage.

Another explosion, concrete it sounded like this time. No swords clashing, just the concrete crumbling as I tried to think of what I should do, but my head was swimming to the agony, and I dared not to think about the fact that it's a curved sword speared in my chest. Yet there it was, lingering in the back of my mind like a fucking taunting nightmare ready to unleash a panic attack.

"Let me see it," Julius' familiar voice spoke out.

A rough hand brushed my right away from the hilt, barely touched it to shift it. The sword I could feel stir, making it difficult to breathe through as my hands clenched up. "Fucking pull it out." I snapped weakly between panicked gasps.

"And what, cauterize it?" His voice worried, which just irritated me further.

"Let me worry –bout that, you're fucking awful at fire spells." I moaned, hoping it will make him take it out soon before the panic sets in.

"Excuse me?" Julius grew irritated.

"Pull it out, damn it! –So help me I'll slam your face into the concrete wall myself Julius." I threatened, realizing that the ordeal was making it strenuous to speak.

"Okay, calm down Amos," His tone quickly went to try to soothe, the sword shifted slightly again to force a groan from my lips, eyes threatening to water from the pressure building up. "This is going to hurt like hell. You ready?"

I let out a small nod. Immediately, the sword yanked upwards, which I couldn't help but scream, tears falling out as the sword persisted upwards, jerking me almost with it as it struggled to get out. Once it did finally unbury itself, I made a motion to start the spell to quickly halt myself, diverted from the impact to the chest now.

"A'max," Julius' voice spoke out, searing my skin irritated to the cold blade that just escaped.

I made a motion towards my chest with my hands to find them brusquely pinned by two large hands. "_Calm_ down, you're safe, alright?"

"-Funny coming from you…" I struggled to speak out, the scorching starting to recede,

No retort, but kept my wrists pinned to the soggy floor until it started to die down a little, only somewhat bearable to breathe through. I could barely make out Julius' face roughly six inches away from mine, scrutinizing my chest with his eyes. "When- pick it up?" I struggled still.

A small chuckle sounded. "You really can't make out who I am, can you?"

I blinked in a miserable attempt to clear my vision to find it didn't help as my head raced. "You think you can stand?" He asked suddenly, unpinning my wrists as he noted the tension diminishing.

I decided to brush off my confusion, though it lingered still. "Uh-" I was cut short with a vicious cough, making the new injury feel like someone had shoved the sword in again for a second as I winced.

"I'll take that as a no then," he quickly continued, suddenly slipping a bulky arm under my knees.

I started to panic again, I don't know who it is and they want to _carry_ me? "Leave me alone-" I struggled, trying to move away when I instead jolted my chest, earning an immediate whimper from my lips. How pathetic…

"Amos, my brave boy," a rough hand brushed my right cheek as I paused to his words. "Every now and then you're allowed a day of weakness. For now, let me help. Tomorrow I'll ignore any kind of movement you inflict on your brother, alright?"

I froze, taking it in now as it started to make sense. "Sir, I-" I started to make a move to apologize.

He sighed out of slight irritation. "The longer we stay here the higher the risk we won't get out." He announced, but keeping his voice calm as if it was supposed to do the same for me.

* * *

-Julius Kane-

I swear we dug the entire snow into a mansion for ants if they decided someday that they actually do like the cold weather. No sign of Amos, and my worry and anger didn't mix well with my right shoulder complaining to the earlier blow during the fall in. I forced my eyes to focus on pissed off as I raised my khopesh again.

I froze as the tip of the sword simply crumbled the wall of snow before me into a huge melting puddle. The concrete hall we had just escaped from before me, in a sloppy mess. I stepped out of the ice cavern to find something else of interest. Torsten's khopesh drenched in blood, just sitting in a pool of it even.

"Oh great, still no sign of Amos," Michel grumbled as he too took a step out of the snow wall he had made.

A faint trail of blood led down the hall, worry controlling me now. "Let's go," I hastily instructed.

"Wait, Julius!" Michel protested, but decided to follow as my eyes stuck to the blood drops starting to dry to the grey floor.

"Can't," I hissed to the Frenchman doing his best to catch up.

Michel had managed to shut up, taking it at a faster pace as I continued to lead. A quick turn and I rammed into something dark, cold, and breathing. I braced myself against the wall as I looked up to find myself staring right at the big guy behind it all. I really shouldn't have decided to call him names.

He immediately gripped the collar of my shirt to throw me to the opposite wall. My back arched to the slam, I slowly slide down the wall as I kept myself from complaining. Despite the fact he just fucking threw me like a rag doll, my head was still spinning to the blood. The khopesh drenched up to the hilt.

Kopeshs are weapons meant for defense and slicing, _not_ stabbing. My eyes followed down the hall, seeing more of his blood trail. A sudden rumbling of concrete for me to finally snap out of it. Michel had reached his limit, eyes livid as Torsten worked his way out of the rubble Desjardins just made.

"Alright, you leave me no choice," Michel snarled as he firmly planted his right hand on the wall, chanting something in Egyptian.

The rocks responded, thinning and becoming more latex-like, pinning Torsten to the ground before solidifying again. "Come on Julius," Michel snapped, extending his right arm to help me up again.

I immediately gripped my sword again and stood up, both of us standing side-by-side in the hall as we continued following the trail. A left turn, Michel immediately pulled me back before I ran into a more brightly colored figure. "Oh good, now I don't have to risk leaving him here." My eyes narrowed as I took in the strange tone that emanated from my father.

"What the hell are you doing here Jabari!" Michel snapped, catching his breath with me.

My father's demanding and cold eyes were red, but not from anger. No, the darting look read outrage, the red read irritation from trying to act strong. I know it pretty well; I see it every day when I pass the mirror each normal morning at home. "We can discuss that later; help me unblock the snow here." He immediately turned to face Michel only.

Let me describe the great Jabari Kane a little better. Amos and I are fairly tall, really, we are. It's why people can pretty much pick me out in a crowd, and Amos looks average height amongst the peers my age. An intimidating trait, great for combat magicians. My father towers us, and you seriously wonder how he even manages to walk at such a height.

Being the Chief Lector's advisor, he feels the need to show it off too. You'll always see him in a yellow cloak; the rest of his attire is usually white or close enough to it in brightness. It brings out the dark skin, probably adding to the intimidation further. And his eyes are always focused, something every great combat magician picks up, eyes of a hunter.

"Julius, make sure nothing falls on the two of you, got it?" My father's tone quickly sounded back to normal, commanding the rest of us.

"Two-?" I froze as I took him in finally.

He was leaning against the wall, hemorrhaging a little from his chest, clothes discolored in blood and small singe marks mixed. I immediately found myself on my knees, taking him in again; grateful he's still alive, though his eyes appeared to be swimming in his skull as they fogged over. My head spun as I took in the disarray his chest was willing to show, a faint image of the sword hit me hard as my face heated up.

He was shivering, I don't know if it was from lack of heat, the snow, or maybe the pain he's undergoing. I quickly seized his right hand, earning his gaze as he struggled to take me in. "J-Julius," his lips struggled to move, his expression speaking of utter agony as I wrapped my fingers into his, taking in how damp they felt.

"It's okay; we're getting out of here. Then we will go home, let you rest up. It's all going to get better from here, I swear-"

The concrete rumbled again, I peered over to find it to be Michel's work again with some aid from my father. Seriously, concrete slabs are getting rather annoying the longer we stay down here. Thankfully, this time no snow bombarded the hall in reaction. In fact, it looked as if it was on the side of the mountain rather than in it. Jabari Kane quickly turned to me once he decided they were done remodeling. "Get him out of here, Julius. Michel and I have cleanup duty."

He signified what kind of duty that actually was, pulling his khopesh out as Michel snarled. "Fuck him, we need to focus on getting Amos medical treatment," Michel snapped. "We can come back once he's safe and do it then-"

"He'll run, and we won't see him until he wants to harm someone again." Jabari insisted.

"Then you're on your own." Michel finalized, approaching Amos and I.

My father's eyes narrowed, staring down at Desjardins as he simply ignored him, trying to get Amos on his feet. "You are at risk of being his next target, Michel." My father spoke coldly, a tone that only spoke of a thick layer of threats.

"Fine by me," Michel barely got Amos to lean against his right shoulder as I stood up. "Julius, you coming or staying?"

My eyes hardened, determination still ringing true in my mind as Michel simply nodded, knowing the answer already. "I think it would be better to carry him," I pointed out, taking in how his legs looked ready to give out from under him.

Amos choked on a breath, a flash of anger crossing Michel's expression. Jabari left, storming down the hall we just came from without another word. "I can't carry him," Michel quickly admitted, facing me.

I nodded, taking the hint as I went about carrying him bridal style. And yes, Amos struggled against this and stopped as distress flickered his expression, heaving to catch his breath. "We're getting out of here," I reassured, and I started to wonder if I was doing it for my sake as well.

"I have your back," Michel gripped his staff, allowing me out first.

* * *

I didn't run. No, I tried for a second to find it was causing him too much strain, moaning in complaint that forced me to slow down my pace. I couldn't take it, the blood, the agony etched into his expression, the pleaded assortment of sounds struggling to escape his trembling lips. Flashes of that Goddamn sword kept pissing me off, wondering what even made Torsten think of sticking my brother with it in the first place.

My arms shook, and I was surprised I could even keep him from falling at this point. I even managed to forget my own shock from the boulder half an hour ago. It had to be the promise I made silently to him, to myself. But the fear was there, being reminded of it constantly as I heard him, thought of how heavy he is, or even how all I could smell was blood at this point.

Michel kept steady footing behind us; though I heard his feet turn a little as he scanned the area. "Julius, I suggest we follow the river downstream, otherwise we might lose direction."

I'm awful in directions in the first place, so I took him up on that and spotted the iced-over river to our left. A chill brushed past us. A soft whimper barely escaped him, almost camouflaged as an exhale. Gods, I'd be surprised if he gets away without hypothermia at this point.

"_Damnit_," Michel cursed out of irritation. "Can't rely on that fucking combat moron for anything!"

"What?" I stopped to turn and took in, with dread, our party. Torsten leading a group of three, chasing us down without relenting to the temperature. How could my father not see him? He was only a few turns away from where we escaped from.

Michel abruptly turned to face me, a decision finely written in his expression. "Keep going; don't stop until you are standing in front of what looks like a grey government building with a stone lion perched by the door. Got it?"

I went for a protest, taking in what he meant. "Desjardins-"

"I'll do a much better job of holding him back. But you better make it there, Kane." A flash of hurt overwhelmed his expression as he took in the bundle of my brother in my arms.

"We will, thank you." I nodded as I went to continue downriver, making sure I knew exactly where this fucking river went.

Now I've added a promise to our French ally to my list. Boy, it was getting long quick. I think ten minutes passed and nothing seemed to change, the river and snow seeming to never end.

"It hurts," Amos's voice was barely audible, eyes squinting unbearably as if he was trying to shove his eyeballs into his head.

"I know, we all know. Just stay awake, please?" I caught myself sobbing, telling myself to keep moving despite how helpless the situation was getting.

A hoarse cough was his response. Another step and his body tensed as his breathing became heavy. Oh Gods, don't do this. I didn't plan to pull everything I could offer just for him to die in my arms like this.

"We're almost there," I continued, feeling weak despite how much I mentally screamed at myself to keep going no matter what.

My newly formed tears formed ice crystals on my cheeks. Now it was clear he was struggling to breathe, gasping in the cold air. My heart lurched to the thought, pulling him closer to the point that I could feel him shivering against my chest.

Two more steps. "Can't breathe…"

I looked down to see he was speaking the absolute truth; it was becoming a fight for him to inhale. Should I stop walking, take a break to let him catch his breath? Anything was better than seeing this continue. I kneeled and gently placed him on the snow.

A pant for air, his hands clenched into rigid fists. Shit, it didn't make a fucking difference. "Amos, deep breaths. Don't panic." I spoke out, praying that he could hear me over his own breathing.

His shivering got worse, his entire form shuddered to the strain. The tears are icing my face and I ignore how cold I am getting. I'll be unfeeling if this is it, the last moment for my little brother. My hands squeezed into fists, fingers stabbing into the palms as my lips trembled to see he wasn't improving.

He was just getting worse; the gasps morphed into wild attempts to breathe, as if the first breath you take after a near-drowning. "Amos," my voice was shattering, realizing that it didn't matter what I say.

This is it… the vision isn't the same because the weather is completely different. No fucking fire of outrage. No… Just snow, ice speaking of how much I now resented our father as Amos gripped snow into his fists.

I quickly took his right hand into mine, shaking as I took in how stiff the muscles in his wrist were. "Just take him already, don't let him brave this any longer." I cried out, begging Anubis would act.

Two seconds passed and something warm brushed my right arm. I looked up and jumped to the sight of the blonde woman shooting me a sad look as she kneeled into the snow. She quickly took in the condition of his chest before speaking in Egyptian, a blue hieroglyph she coursed into his chest. Whatever it was, it forced his diaphragm upwards, his gasp sounding like it was finally rewarded.

Then she proceeded to speak, not making sense to me but it sounded like the familiar French. "I'm sorry, I don't speak French." I wondered if she knew what I was saying even.

In response, she immediately went to carry Amos. For her size, I was absolutely surprised she could lift him even. Then she nodded slightly towards me before turning to continue heading downriver. I got back on my feet, not willing to give my brother to some stranger.

* * *

-Caroline Smith-

"Fuck, I'll be there!" I yelled out in response to the constant ringing of the bell to the Sixty-Seventh Nome.

It was four in the morning, and someone had better be dying for me to be up this early. I tightened my robe around me and headed downstairs, surprised I'm the only one awake. I opened the door, ready to snap when I instead found a strange woman peering down at me. Then started rattling her tongue in some foreign language that I just blankly stared at her.

"Man, move!" Julius' voice demanded, brushing a hand to move the woman who now glared at him.

I was about to ask what his problem was when I instead saw it in his arms. Curled in his arms was his brother. "Oh shit, Julius!" I immediately stepped my bare feet outside, taking a closer look.

The first thing I noted was his breathing, thin and struggling to even out. Then his neck, seeing it vibrating as a very distinguished red mark encircled his throat. The blood drying on his clothing. And Gods, his chest was pulsating blood to each inhale. Contrasted to Julius he looked pallor.

"Come in, quickly to the infirmary," I instructed, letting them in as I lingered behind, closing the door quickly and locking it for good measure.

I proceeded to lead them through. The infirmary was thankfully built on the first floor, the man in charge of building the Nome was an obvious genius. However, he apparently wasn't too fucking bright to build it closer to the front door. In fact, it was in the completely opposite side of the Goddamn building.

There were notable pleas barely formed from him as Julius tried his best to not strain him further. "S-Stop…"

The woman started speaking again, nothing I could make out. Julius didn't say anything in response as he kept his eyes on me. How could this have happened? Sure, Ruby gave a warning about it, but isn't Julius well known for pummeling his enemies?

And dear Gods, his eyes were irritated from crying. "You'll be okay, Caroline's going to help," Julius whispered, still refusing to look down at his brother moaning to each footstep.

I've dealt with injured people before, but nothing this severe. Broken leg? Easy fix. And, well, I'll say it aloud to myself that I actually do like Amos beyond a friend and witnessing him in such a mess was clouding my head with images of what might have happened.

We finally made it to the infirmary to find the door locked. "Shit, I need to go wake up my mom." I turned to face them. "Stay here. And please set him down, legs above his head." I instructed quickly as I hurried down the hall _again_.

Well, once my mother caught sight of the patient, she refused to go back to bed. She isn't a healer, but she does understand the basics of it being as I am her daughter. She quickly went about grabbing everything as I watched Julius softly situate his wounded brother on the bed I had pointed to. "What the hell happened to you guys?" I finally broke down to ask, evaluating the lesion to his chest closer.

The wound looked deep, as if he had been gouged. "You swear you won't speak a word outside of this room?" Julius started.

I looked up to see he was being deathly serious. "Yeah, you can trust me." Deep down, I highly doubt there was anything to be so guarded about.

Julius sat down, as if stating it was a long story. "Did someone attempt to cauterize this injury?"

"Yeah, but don't ask me who. I wasn't around at the time." Julius answered quickly.

"You _weren't_ around?" My eyes judged.

Julius took my look with hurt eyes, which I soon realized I didn't even know the story yet and I was judging him already. He already looked distressed to see Amos like this. "Sorry, tell me what happened please." I apologized quickly, lifting Amos' jaw a little to receive a wince.

"It was a false report." Julius suddenly cried, desperately trying to hold back to find himself failing.

The mark had left an indentation just above his Adam's apple; someone had been strangling him probably to the point of unconsciousness. He let out a whimper after a second, which I pulled my hand back to let his head relax again. He looks so small, this isn't fair. Yes, he's two years younger than I, but it isn't right to see someone like this after getting to know them.

"They wanted me, they grabbed him instead. Took us two days to find their fucking underground hideout." Julius struggled to continue.

"Wait, are you saying this was a hostage situation?" I stopped to look up at him.

Julius swallowed, just lowering his head as his crying got progressively worse. My head swam to the thought, why would someone torture Amos? "Honey, you need to check on that wound." My mother snapped me out of it.

"Right, thank you."

* * *

"Hey," I whispered to grab just Julius' attention. "Will you join us for breakfast?"

His eyes held heavy blue/black bags as they read lack of sleep in their irritation. Lifting his head from where it rested on his right hand, he first responded with grumbling from being woken up. "Food sounds good… Though I'm not sure I want to leave yet." He admitted dryly.

I nodded; it's going to take a while before Julius is back to normal himself. "Okay, I'll bring some in here." I decided aloud.

"Thank you, Caroline," Julius' eyes took me in a little clearer. "For putting up with us, and everything in general I suppose-"

"I don't even think a wench of a person would allow ditching a dying teenager on the streets to settle on their conscious, Julius." I piped up.

That sent a tinge of confusion across his expression, earning an amused laugh from me. "I'll be back." I reassured, closing the door behind me.

Sighing, I walked down the hall to be met by a familiar man going in the opposite direction. "Smith," he started immediately, "where are they?"

"Good morning, Desjardins," I welcomed to find he wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. "The room to the right," I pointed to it quickly.

"Thank you," he quickly went to the door without a second thought.

That's when I took in how tattered his robes where, splotches of blood here and there, but he still ran down the hall to get here anyway. "You want breakfast too?" I offered as the thought came up.

"Oh, um, sure." He was halfway surprised I asked before entering, closing the door behind him.

* * *

-Michel Desjardins-

I collapsed as I closed the door, gasping for air as my ass met the floor. I took in the room quickly, spying Julius sleeping with his head in his hand in a chair to the right of the bed Amos is resting on. I sat there for a minute, head reeling to the words exchanged between Torsten and I. He had won, of course, but I suppose my main goal had gone through despite it all. I shed blood to buy them valuable time, time that saved their lives wither they want to admit it or not.

_"And why do you think I'd be interested in you Desjardins?" Torsten growled. "I want the Kane boys; you're just a small obstacle in the way."_

He and his group had ditched me in the snow, following the tracks into Hamburg. I laid there a moment before tending to the lacerations I received. Then proceeded to take the long way into Hamburg, not wanting to run into the rebels again for once they achieve disappointment.

Now that I sat here, relief filling my face with warmth despite how many disturbing images had summoned from the dark corners of my mind, I wondered about Jabari. Not like I gave a damn if he's dead or not, but he isn't necessarily the type to bow to anyone either. In the end, I was still wondering how the hell he missed Torsten when we escaped. I pinned the fucker down to make sure he couldn't focus on any spells with much ease.

Amos stirred a little, right arm crossed over his torso gently. I closed my eyes as I smiled, thanking pretty much everyone I could think of that had allowed him to survive this, with the classic exception of his father. Julius groaned tiredly, head slipped off of his hand as he immediately blinked out of alarm.

"Holy shit, Michel?" Julius suddenly was kneeling in front of me, taking in every mark on me.

"I'm alright, just let me catch my breath." I snapped, which he backed off a little in response.

"I don't think you exactly 'qualify' as being alright." Julius immediately inputted.

"Well, he had no immediate intention to kill me," I added, smiling at the seventeen-year-old as his eyes widened to that bit. "Didn't matter that I stayed behind, he was only going after you two."

He closed his eyes, evening his own breathing. I couldn't stand how much stress Julius was applying to himself for the past week. I immediately yanked him into a hug, which really startled the hell out of him. "It's all good though, right? Amos is recovered; we're out of that gods-awful place…" I listed.

He pulled out quickly, shaking his head. "Michel," he struggled to speak up, keeping his eyes fixed on mine. "I have to tell someone."

"Tell what?" I wondered.

"Need to report this, no matter what the hell my father says. I don't give a shit anymore, I really-"

"You can't Julius." I hated myself for saying it so bluntly, but it's the truth. "Jabari will override everything you say; it will just prove pointless except to humiliate you to the Per Ankh. Not even your father wants that-"

"Why should I fucking care what he wants?" Julius snapped immediately. "He brushed off what Amos _needed_, why should I repay him? Do you not understand? I can't, I just want to fucking kill him myself to just pronouncing his name!"

"Julius, calm down," I started, not really wanting Amos to wake up to this. "We will get him back in some way, but what you're implying is the worst way to go about it for us."

Julius was about to protest when the door knocked. I quickly moved as Julius stood up to open it. Caroline Smith entered with four plates of eggs (three with sausages), and three cups of black coffee. "I wasn't sure what you prefer, so I just grabbed the basics."

"Hey, we are not picky." Julius smiled towards her as he helped her hand the food out.

"The one with just eggs is for when Amos wakes up and he's hungry," Caroline confirmed.

"Sounds good," Julius immediately placed it on the end table beside the chair he was sleeping in earlier.

Caroline had handed the coffee mugs out, and then we proceeded to eat. I leaned against the unused furnace as Caroline sat in the chair to the left of the bed. "Thank you, Smith." I immediately started before even thinking about eating.

"Don't thank me yet, Desjardins. I'll be looking into those lacerations after we're done eating." Caroline reassured, eyes observing my tarred clothing.

"How did you know we'd be here?" Julius asked me after a gulp of coffee.

"Tunisia told me, she's the one that made the portal for you." I answered, recalling the Nome Leader's straight-up panic. "Something about you knowing a friend here. Which I'm glad you picked here. A better place probably would have been the Twenty-First-"

"No, there was no way our mother was going to be focused enough to help." Julius continued. "Caroline already had an idea, our mother didn't."

"I see your point," I added as Julius sighed.

Silence for two minutes as I paused to take in how soundly Amos was sleeping despite his surroundings. "How is he?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to see for myself.

Caroline smiled, "he's doing excellent at the moment. I had to do a bit of studying though before I could actually _do_ any mending to his left lung, but he will be fine once he gets past the soreness of it all."

I choked back some coffee into my mug. "Lung?" I turned to Julius to see he had the same amount of shock on his expression.

"_Shit_, and I said I didn't want to know just because of that…" Julius added as Caroline gave us an apologetic look in her amber eyes.

"Do you know about possible side-affects that can occur?" I hesitated to ask.

"Uh, well there's a variety of things that might happen." Caroline sounded pretty unsure. "Coughing fits, possible bleeding, maybe lack of breath for all I know."

And any of those will permanently erase him from squadron work even if it's a temporary thing. My hands shook, and the food looked rather revolting now that I placed my plate on my lap, allowing it to get cold.

"Julius, you need to speak to your mother." I started calmly, opening my eyes to take in his nod of understanding. "But you can't speak of your father."

"And why the hell not?" Julius snapped, not feeling hungry as well apparently. "It's her husband-"

"That's the point, you'll just disturb her further than just this will." I gestured towards Caroline's patient still slumbering despite the heated conversations.

Julius' hands clenched, cursing under his breath. "Why should I stand by and just tolerate him brushing it off?" His voice hushed, but the intensity in it even made Caroline sit up in alarm.

Silence for a minute, I was trying to come up with something to get him to back down, but nothing came up. Honestly, I wanted the bastard ratted out too, but he's the Chief Lector's advisor, he'll just repel that shit storm onto us in tenfold.

"Julius," Amos breathed out, eyes still closed as his movements made us certain he was waking up.

Julius immediately calmed down, eyes taking in his brother as he struggled to open his eyes. When he finally managed it, he just glanced at his brother, taking him in quickly. "How are you feeling?" Julius asked, not sounding certain if he even wanted to know that.

Amos smiled softly. "Does alive count?"

Yes, it counts more than anything else does.

* * *

-Julius Kane-

_"You mean if you hadn't stopped, we would be back there?" My hands clenched as I asked him for confirmation._

_Michel paced a little on the balcony, not even wanting to look at me directly. "Yes, that's about it."_

_"Any word on my douchebag of a father?" I caught myself pouring disdain throughout my words._

_ "Not that I am aware of," Michel continued._

_ I frowned, Michel would know too just because Jabari will want his head for not aiding him in his 'raid'. "Is it bad that I hope he's lying in his own pool of blood?"_

_ Michel allowed a small smile of amusement cross him. "For you, yes."_

And I still have yet to call our mother. I was just struggling for words on how to even bring it up; I can't even speak of it around Amos without bawling my face off. Our father would snarl and call me feminine if he saw this. Whatever, I'd prefer being human over a goddamn robot any day.

I slowly entered the room again to find Michel laughing as Amos rolled his eyes. "What I miss?"

"Oh, nothing," Amos replied quickly.

"He was just telling me of when Torsten had asked him where you would be. Amos simply stated that you were probably running around in the cave still." Michel favored me with an answer.

My right eyebrow rose as Amos shot me the same look. "Yes?" Amos finally asked after a second.

How can he even attempt to make it seem normal? He's even the victim to the shit storm we escaped, and here he is, laughing his face off with Desjardins. "I would say that earns a duel, but I know I'd win." I eased a grin as Amos shook his head in disgust.

"Whatever, but I'll take you up on that offer once I'm on my feet-" Amos started.

"Oh no, not with me around to stop it." Michel immediately turned to discipline.

I laughed as I took in his disgruntled expression. "It'll be a friendly fight, nothing of the violent sort."

"Says the combat magician." Michel shot down immediately. "Also, must I remind the two of you that you _demolished_ a museum the last time you dueled?"

"It wasn't structurally sound in the first place-" Amos defended.

"A _whole_ museum, Amos?" Michel's eyebrows rose questioningly. "And that was just a minute into your skirmish."

"Things got out of control on that one. I shoved Amos into a display and he triggered a miniature sphinx." I put in.

"Oh, _now_ we're changing the story?" Michel's arms crossed as Amos let out a nervous laugh. "You said Amos pull his shabti bull out if I remember correctly."

"At the time, we were afraid if the sphinx was obliterated or not, so we lied, okay?" I rolled my eyes sitting on the chair to the right again.

All three of us laughed a little, dying into the silence that lasted five minutes. During which, I noticed Amos was wincing a little to each inhale and exhale, earning an instant worry fest on my part. Amos might have permanent breathing problems from this, and it might be of something no healer can solve.

Not like I don't _like_ the idea of not having him in the squadron, though he's proven to be valuable between the three of us on numerous occasions. But what if he was home-stricken? I'll be coming home to my younger brother having coughing fits. Massive asthma, maybe he'll even have days where he can't even get out of bed because it's just too much strain on him.

Warm liquid poured from my eyes for a second as I turned away. "Julius?" Amos' voice told me I was too late to hide it.

"Yeah?" My voice shook, trying to sound like I'm not crying again.

"Will you _please_ tell me why you're still crying?" Amos' tone sounded worried.

I turned to find that's exactly what his expression showed. Gods damn it all! Now he's adding worry about me onto this? Michel kept out, just watching as I closed my eyes, hating every bone in my body. "How do you actually feel, Amos? And don't give me that half-assed version."

Amos seemed like he caught on, sorrow written in his eyes as he took me in again. "I don't think you're really putting into account that I should be dead from this." Amos started. "And you've only given me a few hours of sleep to answer your question. I still feel shitty, but ten times better than I had eight hours ago."

My hands shook, seeing he was doing his best to hide how much it actually hurt for him to breathe still. "But this isn't going to pull me from the squadron." Amos continued, taking in bits and pieces of what was racing through my thoughts.

"I don't give a flying shit if you continue working under our father." I confirmed, strengthening my tone as my right hand tightened into a fist. "I'm worried about what _this_ is going to cripple you with."

"Not a damn thing," Amos sounded so certain it made me want to punch him for it.

Michel cleared his throat, earning our eyes as he took us in. "Julius, as our squadron leader, it is initially your choice if Amos stays or not. However, I suggest we find a replacement if you do decide to leave your brother out-"

"You two are so set on the thought it makes me want to puke." Amos snarled in disgust.

Michel rolled his eyes, peering down at my little brother. "As you stated earlier, Amos, you should have died from this experience. You'll be even luckier if you get away without any permanent trauma."

* * *

-Caroline Smith-

Amos was forcing himself to make progress. He forced himself to eat something other than bread. Forced himself out of bed by himself, though I had _insisted_ he have help. Silly boy, I left him for two minutes to come in and find him staring back at me as his legs threatened to collapse from under him.

"Why are you doing this?" I finally brought myself to ask, though my tone should have been a tad gentler towards my patient as I forced him back into the bed.

"Doing what?" He just had to annoy me.

"Forcing yourself to make progress today," I continued in a huff. "Seriously, just eating more than bread is a large leap of progress-"

"Not big enough." Amos clenched his teeth as he thought of it.

I slowly sank into the chair next to the bed. "You're acting like you can't be sick for a few days."

Amos closed his eyes tiredly, I'm pretty sure he had run himself exhausted already. "It's not exactly something we can afford."

"It's not like you can help but _be_ in bed, Amos!" I pointed out quickly, agitated by his explanation. "Everyone understands, if they don't, tell them to talk to me!"

Amos allowed a small smile of appreciation but sighed as it disappeared. "Desjardins and Julius are already talking about finding a replacement."

I blinked as I tried to process that, Amos waited patiently though. "A replacement for you?" I finally asked.

"Julius is freaked; he thinks I'm going to be in _this_ state from now on or something," Amos confirmed through clenched teeth. "All it will take is for one of them to hint it for Jabari to yank me out."

"Well, luckily for him Ruby is dropping by today," I announce after sighing.

"Oh good, someone to keep his mind off of me for a bit." Amos encouraged, though he still seemed a bit peeved as the thought came back up.


	8. Amos Stands Against His Father

**This is where Amos helps Ruby go into hiding.**

* * *

-Ruby Faust-

A nudge to my left shoulder, I struggled to open my eyes to face a dirt road. "Sorry, but I have a few words before I drop you off." I could barely register the man behind the wheel, his eyes focused on the road the brights lit up only a few feet ahead.

I immediately rubbed my right hand against my eyes, registering what is going on within the quick few seconds. He intruded my home in London, and now we're making our way to the Sixty-Seventh Nome. And he still had yet to explain the urgency in this. "Oh good, I was almost ready to roll down the window and scream fire."

He didn't even react to my attempt at humor, making me quickly go back to seriousness. "Okay, you ready to tell me what the big idea is?"

To this, he immediately braced his head against his left hand, elbow resting on the door as he continued driving. "Sorry, can't."

My shoulders grew ridged to that answer. Something has to be up for him to be acting like this. "Can you at least tell me what you are doing dragging me through Miami?" I snapped, keeping myself from punching him.

"I need you to lay low." He started, keeping his tone calm. "I've already talked with Caroline; she'll make sure no one finds you. You need to _stay_ here. If you don't, you might as well write up your will."

_Jeez Amos, you're not doing a good job in keeping me calm._ I kept quiet though, waiting to see if there was anything else. Something had to be royally wrong; Amos isn't acting like his usual bookwormy-self. He would have even asked how my parents were doing when he knocked on the door. That didn't even happen; he just stormed past them and gripped my arm, dragging me out.

"Ruby," Amos hesitated to start, eyes still fixed on the road. "You once mentioned to me that a voice told you to go to Cairo."

I nodded, recalling it myself. "Yeah, but that was seven years ago-"

"Does it still talk to you?" He continued, shifting his weight a bit to adjust his head against his hand.

"Um, sometimes. Not recently or anything." A dreadful thought overcame me now. "You're not planning on drugging me because of it too, are you?"

Amos finally glanced at me, worry written in his eyes. "Female or male?"

"_Why_ does it matter?" I snapped.

"Because that damn voice is the reason I'm dragging you to refuge," Amos defended. "Has it ever told you anything about itself? Anything at all?"

"They think you're an idiot, does that help?" I made this up simply because he was getting on my last nerve.

This just irritated him too, removing his arm from the door as he took me in for a second. "Well, just so happens that this idiot is saving your ass from getting trampled on."

"How about you just fucking tell me what the hell is going on?" My right hand gripped the door handle, moving it a little to gain his attention.

"You're hosting a god, happy?" He shook his head. "If you want to know more, just ask it, I'm sure they could give better answers than I can."

_Oh, now he's gone crazy._ I mentally noted myself, crossing my arms over my chest.

_He speaks the truth, Ruby._

I froze, unable to breathe as I recognized it to be the voice. "The squadron was handed a mission involving sniffing out hosts and eliminating them," Amos continued. "You're a target, _that's_ why I'm dragging you here."

_Breathe; you don't want to pass out do you?_

"Well fuck me," I cursed under my breath.

"Rather not," Amos answered, still a bit irritated himself.

My eyes narrowed to his reply. "I was talking to myself."

_You should calm down; he's putting his neck on the line._ The voice instructed.

I took a deep breath, a thought nagging the back of my mind. "Where's Julius?"

"Tokyo, they're chasing a false trail at the moment." Amos frowned for a second. "Ruby, I suggest you don't go looking for him. He's not the same while working, he won't think twice about finishing you off."

Jeez, I'm pretty sure Julius doesn't kill as much as Amos is trying to make it sound. "Amos, you're overreacting-"

He laughed from stress, slamming his left hand against the steering wheel. "You're a fucking genius Ruby. It's all just me; I'm going down the goddamn pit of crazy and plan to drag you down with me."

Unfortunately, his words just clarified that I don't know anything about it. He shivered for a moment before taking a deep breath himself. "Sorry," he started softly, "I didn't mean to snap."

"Amos, you're obviously stressed by whatever is going on. I get it, people need to vent." I brushed off. "So, how long do you think I'll have to keep my head down?"

Another shiver, Amos remained quiet for a minute. "You cold?" I asked, about to pull my jacket off.

"No, I'm okay," he finally answered. "Just, well, freaking out."

_Give him space._ I told myself quickly.

We kept to ourselves for roughly ten minutes. "Jeez, I didn't think a Nome this far out of the city would qualify itself as being in the city limits." I commented, peering out at the Atlantic Ocean to our right.

"It's along the beach," Amos clarified.

More silence, Amos coughed a bit into his left arm now. "You sure you're-"

"I'm _fine_ Ruby. I have to be, now stop worrying about what the hell I'm doing and be more concerned about yourself."

"That's a little hard to do seeing who the driver amongst us is." I pointed out, earning a roll of his eyes.

"Listen up, as of now; the three of us are dancing against poisoned arrows." Amos continued now, though I could tell he didn't actually want to discuss it. "Julius just happens to be one of the few that can launch them on us. He's an enemy now, alright? He just doesn't know it himself."

My gaze hardened, the youngest Kane keeping his eyes to the road as his posture slumped again. "Amos, Julius is our friend."

"People have to choose between what they value sometimes. Julius doesn't know that he has picked his reputation. I refuse to tell him about you, it's better to just keep hidden instead." Amos sighed; stress and immense hurt crossed his expression.

"Then let's tell him that I'm a goddamn psycho so he can pick for himself."

"Oh, and proclaim that we have a death wish too?" Amos shot down quickly with a snarl. "No, we can't just outright tell him. I need to warm him up to the idea first; otherwise he's going to act rashly."

"Amos, Julius is rash." I pointed out, earning a frustrated sigh from him.

"You know, you're not necessarily helping me calm down." Amos complained, a disturbed look crossing over his expression now.

"Sorry, I'm just saying." I added on.

The truck's engine was the only thing keeping it from being completely silent between us. "I didn't think much about it, I thought we were actually going to help them. The first one, it was Hathor hiding in a ten-year-old Indian girl. She didn't know, she didn't _do_ anything wrong. I still wound up having her blood splatter me."

_Oh god, I thought he was just exaggerating._ My eyes stayed focused on him as another shiver traveled through him.

_No, it's an old rule of the Per Ankh. To ensure the gods don't take over, they must kill the hosts._ The voice informed.

A chill traveled down my spine. "I'm sorry," I finally managed.

"It's not your fault," Amos slowly picked up. "If I was to blame anyone, it's the gods that think it's just funny to disturb lives like this. It's like they don't actually give a shit if they wind up killing them in the end."

That kind of disturbed me, questioning if the same went for me and whoever happens to be residing in my head as well. _Ruby, you dare question my intentions?_

"I don't know how long you're going to have to keep hidden," Amos finally answered. "All I know is it's going to require a hell of a lot of planning on my part."

_This is seriously stressing him out._ I noted quickly, feeling guilty for being a source of it. "What happens if they find out that you're helping me?"

"Probably the same they'll do to you." Amos' head bowed a little to the steering wheel, still keeping his eyes on the road.

_Oh Amos, you are way too selfless for your own good._ Jumping out of the truck sounded like a good idea the more we discussed this. Now everyone's life is at risk if they even look at me. _If Julius has to lose me, he shouldn't have to lose you too._

Before I could initiate my maneuver out of the moving truck, the Miami Nome was before us. The front door's lights on, a familiar woman-figure peering out at us as Amos parked the truck. Amos sighed, relaxing his expression before getting out. I followed lead; he slowly made his way up the stairs.

It turned out to be Caroline awaiting us, shivering in her pajamas and light jacket. "Hey Amos," she spoke up first with a welcoming smile.

He looked like he was about to cry as he took her in. "If anyone asks, claim you don't know anything, alright?"

"I don't think I can really say I _do_ know anything." Caroline frowned. "Amos, _what_ is going on?"

His expression darkened, turning away from her as he took me in again. I was just lucky that he confided what was eating him. "Just act like everything is normal. Ruby is just spending time here because she got into a heated argument with her parents again. Don't speak to anyone; this is between the three of us."

"And what if Julius comes knocking?" Caroline's tone tested.

"He won't, not if I can still step in the way." Amos sighed, faking a smile for her sake. "Anyways, you two girls have fun. I'll see you around."

He turned to leave when Caroline quickly gripped his left arm, forcing him to face her. "You better be careful out there." Her brown eyes layering threats of crying otherwise.

He sighed, gently removing her grip with his right hand. "I will if you keep your heads down."

* * *

The rain poured as we took in the situation. Both ends of the alley blocked, Desjardins to my right while Julius moved in, khopesh drawn. Amos noted his movements and made himself between us. "We don't want any trouble," Desjardins started slowly; "we just want to put him under trial."

"Trail being death. Why don't you put yourself in your opponents' shoes for once, Desjardins?" Amos tone snarled.

"Step aside," Julius warned, right hand gripping the hilt of his sword harshly.

_Amos, remove your hood!_ I so desperately wanted to yell at him, but if we escape by some chance it would be best for them to not know who we are.

"No," Amos stood his ground, only three feet between the two. "You don't know what you're doing. You have to stop this, they are _innocent_!"

Julius just scoffed to his brother's pleas. "If you don't move, I'll just kill you where you stand."

My entire body shook, fear taking hold as Amos kept his gaze steadily on him. _For the love of god Amos, let them take me!_

"You've become a blood-thirsty monster." Amos' tone stayed steady. "I didn't know you wanted to forever be known as a goddamn murderer-"

Amos was interrupted by a quick slash of Julius' sword, cutting his chest open. At first, I wasn't sure what had happened, it took Amos suddenly falling to his knees, choking on whatever else he was going to say. Before I could scream, two hands gripped my arms, holding me back. I started to kick, tears taking over as Julius took a step to remove his hood, revealing his enemy's face.

"You bastard!" I screamed.

Julius' mouth fell open as he took him in, immediately falling to his knees. Amos' body must have given up; falling forward that his head rested on his older brother's left shoulder, coughing and spitting something up. In the next second, Julius was holding his brother against him, crying as the sword dropped to the street. "Why?"

That's when the grip loosened, giving me enough time to break free and approach. But I didn't interfere, shivering as I witnessed Julius tearing at himself, his brother bleeding on him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He was burying his face into Amos' left shoulder, practically holding on to him as if that was the only thing stopping him from dying. I gasped in the cold air, rage pulsing as tears continued to pour from my eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen, I should have fucking gone with them. Amos wasn't supposed to be in the middle of it, but he forced it upon himself anyways. Desjardins approached, covering his mouth as he took in who it was coughing blood on his fellow squadron member.

"Shit, we need to get him to a healer." He immediately started, lifting Amos' head from his brother's shoulder. "He is not dying on us, not like this."

Julius is officially a complete wreck, body trembling as he let the tears flow, watching Michel do his best to pick up Amos from the street. "Come on, need to portal to New York-"

"Brooklyn isn't safe," I managed to finally speak. "Miami. Go to Miami."

Amos, in a daze, pulled himself away from Desjardins, immediately falling to the road. "Run," he coughed out, foggy brown eyes on me.

"What-?" I could barely choke out myself.

_Run, they'll kill you if you don't._ Isis reminded. _Don't let this be in vain._

_Goddamn you,_ I spoke in silence, hoping he could read it in my eyes before I made my escape.

_He understood what he was getting into._ Isis started. _This was how he planned to redeem himself, let him do so._

The image of Julius' embrace was tearing at me from every angle; I could barely take in that I reached a major street. I crossed in front of a taxi, not recognizing I did so until he honked angrily. _Fuck you, you don't have to deal with half the shit I just went through._ I snarled in silence as I continued to run across the intersection.

* * *

-Caroline Smith-

Julius entered, keeping the two of us in our vowed silence. He noticed the tension, especially by the way Amos refused to notice him, looking out the window to the cloudy sky beyond. He sat down in the chair beside the bed, acting as if he was welcomed in the first place. My right hand tightened into a fist, glaring at the fucker across the bed.

Amos had told me what happened, how he had tried to simply speak to them. Julius was too focused on his job to really give much of a shit apparently. Not until he realized who the he had put his sword to. Guilt plays on his face well, too suitable for the bloody-handed fool.

"It's Ruby, isn't it?" Julius finally broke through the silent tension. "I recognize her voice-"

"Does it matter who it is and who it isn't?" Amos interrupted harshly. "And no, you fucking moron."

Julius just clamped his hands together, as if it was the only reason he managed to hold back his words. "Amos, must I remind you what we agreed upon when we took this mission?"

"I don't recall a section that stated we were to kill kids that don't even know why we were there." Amos snapped, finally facing him.

Julius chewed on his bottom lip to this, a little taken back by his brother's reaction. "It's to protect Ma'at-"

"Do you feel yourself getting closer to our father with each ounce of blood pouring onto your hands?" Amos continued, refusing to halter any of his anger that's been building up for the past month.

"That's not at all why I'm-" Julius started to defend himself from the vigorous attacks.

"Why did you bother bringing me here?" Amos interrupted. "You're just going to have to kill me to get anything done now."

Julius eyes narrowed dangerously. "Amos, I don't like having to state this, but I am your squadron leader."

Amos let out an irritated tsk. "Fuck, you _really_ are a goddamn idiot. I quit, I don't want anything to do with the Per Ankh anymore. Not if all it's focused on is killing hosts just because they were unlucky enough to fucking have a god in their head."

"That's not at _all_ what-"

"You just walked away after slaughtering that girl." Amos burst out into tears. "I would have just been one of the few you've already brushed off if you hadn't taken the hood off."

That was an extremely low blow, and Julius' expression stated that it hurt. Silence lingered in the room; I planned to keep to myself. "I have nothing else to say to you." Amos informed him with a mouthful of disdain. "You can tell our father that I toss my name away from the family, he doesn't need to bother with disowning."

"I won't allow you going rogue." Julius snapped.

"The world doesn't give a shit what you and I want." Amos pointed out angrily. "The only way you're stopping me is if you fucking finish."

Julius has centered a majority of his life playing big brother, he probably doesn't know where to go if that disappeared. His eyes stated so, crippled by his own brother's angry tears. "Julius," I finally spoke up, "if you cannot bring yourself to do as Amos has instructed of you, I request you leave the Nome."

Julius stood up now, giving us questionable looks. "You realize that it won't be me chasing you two? There are at least a dozen other squadrons that will take this on, and they won't care who you are or if you're innocent."

"At least my soul with be redeemable if karma takes against me." Amos muttered under his breath.

Julius took that in for a moment before storming out, the door slamming loudly behind him. Amos watched the door for a second before suddenly breaking down. "Why is he such a blind moron?"

I gently squeezed his right hand, letting him know he has someone refusing to leave his side. "You're in the right, Amos." I slowly started, praying Ruby is safe somewhere.

"Then why does it not _feel_ right?" Amos shook his head, eyes drifting to the window again.

All it took was bloodshed to separate the brothers. It didn't even matter how much they had previously been through. One turned into an innocent murderer and the other a guilty defender. This simple black-and-white fight destroyed their relationship, leaving them both walking away wounded. Telling themselves not to look back, yet they are as everything reminded them of the other.

I gently rested my head against his right shoulder. He proceeded to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "You know that your stance in this makes me love you even more, right?" I spoke up, a try to lighten up the dreading mood settling over us.

Amos didn't answer, just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I know he doesn't want to hear any more about it, but it's best to get it off my chest as soon as possible before he overthinks himself into the wrong. "You're standing for what you believe in, not everyone does that. They just cower to everyone that disagrees and dismiss it like their opinion doesn't really matter in the first place. You take the time to understand people in the midst of a fight; it's your best quality. Hardly anyone takes the time to really see people at the level you do."

"Caroline," Amos struggled to speak now, "I don't really want to hear it."

Right, now he's looking back and wondering how he could have bettered the conversation he just endured. Maybe he should have taken back some of the cruel things he had said. Maybe he thinks he's the one to set the bomb off. "Amos, you are still brothers no matter what happens." I spoke softly. "Nothing will ever change that, all the things you two shared. You'll eventually mend the bridge that just collapsed."

"I don't even know if I want to." Amos admitted hurtfully.

I looked up to catch a glimpse of the same hurt Julius had in his eyes before Amos closed them, trying to keep his breathing even. _Don't lie to yourself. You're just torn between morals and family. I will help you, we'll solve this._

* * *

-Julius Kane-

A scowl, followed by a slam of the manila folder to his desk before he looked up at me. "He's dragging our name to hell is what he's doing." He slowly started, anger in each word. "Your top priority is to eliminate him, and then you can concern yourselves on this godling."

_Oh gods, it's starting._ My eyes saddened as Michel immediately slammed his hands on the desk.

"You're assigning us to kill your son?" He demanded, eyes challenging the advisor of Chief Lector Iskandar.

"Amos is not my son, he's officially been disowned. I wish of you to send word of it too when you see him next." Jabari continued harshly.

Michel let out a hysterical laugh before suddenly setting the folder on fire. "You know what?" Michel started as Jabari glared at him. "I don't think it counts when you've never even been a fatherly figure in his life in the first place. You never even showed an ounce of love to him. He's better off without you breathing down his neck. And guess what? I'm joining his little suicide parade." Michel quickly turned to me, harshly planting his right hand on my right shoulder. "Good luck Julius, maybe one day you'll see how much blood is actually on your hands too."

Three seconds more and the door slammed, Jabari standing up as he put out the fire in the middle of his desk. "I'm adding Desjardins to that list, but Amos is still on top."

My head started spinning, wanting to get the hell out myself. But I'll just be another name added to this forsaken list my father has started to compile. _I can't do this._

It would only take a man like my father to willingly send men for his youngest blood. I secretly hoped that file, now pretty much ash, was the only copy. "You think you can handle this?" Jabari asked as he tossed the ash into a wastebasket.

_Only someone that doesn't have a heart could possibly handle this._ But I nodded stiffly, wondering how the hell he seriously expects me to handle assassinating my squadron.

"Good, I only expect the best from you." Jabari finalized.

That's how it's always been. Julius do this, Julius do that. I just get handed a proud smile and another assignment. Nothing I do is actually good enough; I'm stifled in my father's rep that he's trying to force on me. I never wanted this; I wanted to make a difference beyond the Per Ankh. Not get sent out to kill my brother and his supporters. At this rate, I'm going to be left alone, no friends or family. The world will despise me just as much as I despise the goddamn devil forcing me to raise my khopesh in the first place.

* * *

-Amos Kane-

My eyes narrowed to the sight, Desjardins happened to be the one making the noise. Staff and wand in his hands, more than likely a trap of sorts. "What is he doing?" Caroline questioned.

"Not sure," I admitted quickly. "Stay here, I'm going to see what the problem is this time."

Caroline's eyes glared at me just as the words spilled from my lips. "I'm pretty sure they have a thirst for your blood by now. Just ignore him; we need to find where Ruby is hiding."

True, but he could be trying to grab Ruby's attention with how much noise he's making. And honestly, I'm not going to let them get to her first. "Damn it Amos, I know you're around here!" Desjardins yelled out, kicking some dirt up. "Your father has summoned for your head. You're going to need help."

Caroline shot me a questioning look. "Doesn't seem like he had to think very long." She commented.

I shot her a nervous smile in response. "He's never had to." That earned a disapproving snarl from her.

I took a step towards the deserted intersection of alleyways when she gripped my arm, forcing me back. "Look, Desjardins isn't a moron." She continued on. "They probably set this up in hopes you'll just waltz right to them for another goddamn knife fight."

"Well thank you Lady Smith for such a compliment. However, it appears I was actually intelligent enough to escape their chicken run while I had the chance." Desjardin's voice made the two of us jump.

It took me a moment to compose myself, a little edgy to him only being two feet away. "So, dragging more people into the blood bath, Amos?"

Caroline instantly grew defensive, pulling her staff and wand out. I let out a nervous laugh as he eyed her obvious stance against him. "Actually, she insisted." That earned the pair of brown eyes glaring at me. "I'm curious though, what made you get up and leave, Michel?"

"He composed a criminal file of you just two days ago." Michel started stiffly. "I'm certain the Chief Lector would have reacted the same way I did."

"Get up and leave?" Caroline judged.

"No, burn it so it can match the son-of-a-bitch's worth." Desjardins spoke plainly. "I wouldn't be surprised if he already made copies of the damn thing. And I'm sure I have a record too by now. I didn't linger to see if Julius took on the assignment or not, guess we'll see the next time we see him."

I couldn't help but smile as Caroline lowered her weapons. That's most certainly Desjardins, willing to find any way to butt heads with Jabari Kane. "One more question," I spoke up, earning an understanding nod from the older magician. "How did you know where to look for me?"

"Yes, that's curious, isn't it?" Caroline grew testy again as Desjardins rolled his eyes.

"Amos, how many years have we known each other? I knew that once you could get back on your feet, you'd come looking for Ruby. You must have been insistent enough that your healer came along as backup." Michel gestured to the already tense Caroline.

"Wrong," Caroline smirked in a smug manner as she finally put away her weapons. "I didn't come along because of his health, despite the concern it still brings me. I came along because I know better than to think he can take on squadrons by himself. He's strong mentally, but physically is where he's at a disadvantage. The more the better."

"Hey," I protested immediately as she laughed.

Desjardins let out a laugh himself. "Well, I don't suppose you mind if I join you then?"

Caroline seemed a bit set off by that. "Why are you asking me? I'm not really the head of the group here." She gestured to me again.

"He already knows my answer; he just doesn't want to cross you." I explained quickly.

"Also, Lady Smith, it's been my experience that certain women have a natural leading ability." Michel continued on. "Certain men," he gestured his eyes in my direction, "tend to let said woman to take over."

Oh great, there he goes again. Caroline let out a nervous laugh, giving me a questioning look. "I, uh, don't know what you're hinting at," she cleared her throat to gain better control of her nervousness. "But yes, I welcome you to join our group of outlaws."

"You brought up another question, how sure are you that it's Ruby?" I questioned harshly, recalling how Julius had brought it up a few days ago.

Michel smirked to that. "Because she's one of the few that actually give a damn what happens to you. The accent doesn't help any." Desjardins finally put his weapons away. "The question I have for you is how you found out before the rest of us."

"She mentioned to me years ago that she had followed a voice to Cairo. It was weird, but I kind of just brushed it off. Until, of course, we went through the list of usual signs of hostings." I explained quickly.

"Then why didn't you say something then?" Desjardins worried. "I'm pretty sure you are aware of Julius' feelings towards her-"

"I wasn't sure at the time, and I'm not the type to force anyone into investigation without being certain. Hell, I wasn't too sure about the mission in the first place, Michel. But the first few gave me a pretty clear idea."

"So you got up and left? We thought someone captured you again for crying out-"

I crossed my arms as Caroline's eyes stayed steadily on me, for this was news for her as well. "You and I both know how Julius gets when working."

Desjardins stopped and sighed, not willing to protest. After all, the best example so far has been the injury I'm still healing from. "Why didn't you at least say something to me?"

"Didn't want you involved either." I answered quickly, forming fists from his hands. "But since you're insisting this time, and you don't particularly have a choice, I'm fine with you accompanying us."

Michel nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I really want to slap you right now."

"Oh good, that makes two of us." Caroline added in.

* * *

**I had Sadie see a few visions that pertains to this, but I decided against putting it in the story.**

-Sadie Kane-

It appeared to be a meeting of Nome Leaders; the Hall of Ages packed with voices. It died down quickly to the appearance of a tall figure standing beside the steps. "The Chief Lector will be a little late this afternoon. A disturbance in Antarctica required his attention."

Some disgruntled voices sounded off. _Please hurry up; I don't know how long it will be before someone figures out who I am,_ a familiar voice sounded off.

Another, very disturbingly familiar voice sounded off. "Kane, I'd like to discuss your abilities to restrain your own children," Menshikov demanded harshly, earning the room's attention.

I suppose the man standing beside the steps is who he's addressing for he crossed his arms out of irritation. "I'd like to also remind you that this meeting is not to address family matters, Vladimir."

"Your sons were caught rampaging through the Eighteenth Nome, Jabari," Vald continued anyways. "What were they doing there?"

Holy Ra, that guy is my grandfather? He looks like he's fifty! He definitely didn't appreciate being confronted on this, an irritated scowl before answering. "They're teenagers, Menshikov. Irresponsible enough to cause unnecessary chaos."

Vlad didn't like his answer, muttering something about donuts. _Typical, you're not going to take responsibility for it_, the voice continued in anger. _You sent us there because you got paranoid._

"Anyone else want to complain about unnecessary things before the meeting sets off?" Jabari continued.

"I have a whole goddamn list," another familiar voice sounded in a hushed whisper to my right.

My vision turned to spy Michel Desjardins snarling to the figure before them. "Chill, we can't blow up before Iskandar gets here," the voice sounded towards him. "For Amos."

Wait, my pulsed raced as I started to puzzle out who it is. I'm seeing this through Dad's eyes? And what is going on, why isn't Uncle Amos with them? Michel took a deep breath, nodding in an attempt to calm himself down. "What if this just blows up in our face?" He sounded off, facing my dad. "Brooklyn House is endangered, and then they'll probably do whatever they can to get answers on his location."

"Hey, what did I just say?" Dad tried to be optimistic. "Besides, I highly doubt Iskandar would seriously let Jabari do any of it without a fight, right?"

Michel hesitated to nod, still somewhat distressed. "Mom knows what to do if this goes south, they'll be fine."

"Your brother is currently underground in Chicago without help," Michel reminded angrily. "Nadia, Ruby, and Caroline might be fine, but he has a criminal record thanks to that piece of shit."

"You're underestimating him again," Dad pointed out quickly.

Everyone quieted down, discovering the source is the Chief Lector's arrival. He took a step on the stairs and turned, taking in the crowd before him. "Sorry for my tardiness, something took residence in Three Hundred and Sixty."

"Chief Lector," An older voice sounded off, "is this meeting about the recent scurrying in North America?"

"Or maybe you'd mind explaining the rise of murders in India that occurred last week?" Another voice piped up.

Iskandar gave a confused look to Jabari, who gave the same expression back. "Looks like the stage has been set," Michel pointed out with a gesture to Dad.

"I was not made aware of these matters," Iskandar spoke up finally. "I will assign a squadron to look into them as soon as this meeting is finalized.

"You already did, Chief Lector," Dad spoke up, earning the rooms attention this time.

"Who is that?" A few voices sounded off.

Jabari's eyes lit up in surprise. "Julius, you've come back from your mission then?"

An arm lifted what looked like a hood off his head, earning gasps from the crowd and an interested look from the Chief Lector himself. "Yes, I've come to report a failure on my part," Dad continued on, earning an encouraging nod from his partner.

Jabari gave a nervous laugh, "Failures occur, it's not something to harm yourself over-"

"You're right, but I hate myself for accepting it in the first place," Dad continued stiffly. "The murders in India are from a host-hunting mission my squadron took on this month. It was my brother who stepped out, turned rogue on the count of morals. The movement in North America is undoubtedly our fault, I was recently handed orders to handle my brother in the same manner, adding Desjardins to that list as well."

Iskandar took a step down, a worried look taking over. "Julius, you appear exhausted that you don't know what you speak of-" Jabari nervously excused.

The Chief Lector gestured him to stop as he walked through the crowd, standing only three feet from them, a nod of approval to Desjardins as well. "Where's Amos?"

Desjardins gave a sigh of relief, "Chicago, Master."

Iskandar kept his eyes on Dad though. "I want an audience with your squadron, Kane. Tomorrow morning. Summon your brother."

Dad nodded, relief filling him completely. "You're dismissed, I expect a highly detailed report from you," Iskandar added in.

"Thank you Chief Lector," Dad made sure to say, bowing a little to show his respect.

* * *

It was the Hall of Ages again, this time a little darker than normal. The Chief Lector caught himself fiddling with the end of his cape until the door opened. A very drenched figure entered, hesitating a little with a slouch stating he knew something bad was going to happen. The Lector took a step, finding himself off the stairs leading to the throne. The other's posture straightened a little, almost as if he was shocked by the Lector's approach.

"I trust we've known each other well enough for your utmost honesty," the old man started slowly, seeming to know to watch his steps as the other grew wary.

The cloaked figure took a step back to the Chief Lector zoning in to five feet away. This alone ceased it, the Chief Lector handing the other a worried look. "I trust you, no matter what you find yourself in, Kane."

"You will trust an accomplice to murder? A rogue, a name on a hit list your advisor has composed?" Amos' voice trembled to the thought.

Iskandar sighed, gently planting the bottom of his staff to the polished floor. "As Chief Lector, I decide what labels I assign to whom for myself. None of which are ones I prefer. Accomplice to murder, your brother states otherwise. Rogue? I decide who is banished _not_ your father. I am aware of his hit list, however, and I will put an end to it as soon as I gather enough information on his betrayal."

Amos didn't lighten up, Iskandar sighed with a look that stated he felt hurt by this reaction. "My summoning you is not only for information against your father, but to protect you from him as well. He will not pass judgment without my knowledge. The Twenty-First Nome is being watched as well, Desjardins will signal me if anything seems to be lurking."

"And Julius?" Amos asked stiffly.

Iskandar couldn't help but laugh, "With the rest of your family, reassuring them."

Amos hesitated, still a little uneasy, "What about Ruby?"

"What about her?" Iskandar asked with pure curiosity.

I could sense tension in the room, and it was emanating from my uncle. "Master, I wasn't aware that hunting gods meant murder."

"I've never initiated a hunting gods mission in the first place," Iskandar clarified stiffly, embracing a frown as he took in Amos' bowed head. "What _exactly_ did Jabari say when he handed you this mission?"

Only silence between the two for quite a moment. "You really don't know?" Amos asked, finally allowing eye contact.

"Yes, that's why I need you here," Iskandar confirmed with a half-hearted laugh.

Amos swallowed harshly as Iskandar took a few more steps, finally lifting the hood off of his head. "You know you can trust me Amos, I've personally placed a fair amount of trust in you."

He looked pretty rough; I suspect anyone would when on the run for so long. His hair was misplaced and heavy black bags took residence under his eyes as he tiredly yet wary took in the Chief Lector before him. "She's hosting," Amos managed to spit out, though it appeared he didn't want to confess this. "I don't know who, but she has been for a while. She wasn't even aware until I dragged her to Miami. It's not like she wanted it-"

"Hosts typically don't realize it until they can differentiate their own voice from foreign," Iskandar added in with a nod. "Do not fear, we will aid her soon enough. Your father's actions take precedence first."

That alone seemed to take a great weight off of Amos, a somewhat relieved and surprised look focused on the older magician. "Master, I cannot thank you enough. You have gone to extreme lengths-"

"People must to make worthwhile changes," Iskandar put in. "You have no need to thank me; this is the least I can do for your honest work."

* * *

-Amos Kane-

The First Nome seemed dreadfully eerie this morning. Being the Spring Equinox, the Nome stands practically empty. Except for the Hall of Ages, which I was instructed to meet the Chief Lector again. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for what was beyond the door.

I had entered, believing Master Iskandar had simply wanted more details out of me after forcing some sleep into me. I froze as I took in three others in the room as well, all eyes on me. The first to break the silence was rewarded to Vladimir Menshikov. "You plan to use one of his sons against him? Might as well just duel with a pencil!"

Michel unfroze to even his breathing, a look in his eyes stating he hadn't known either. Why was he even here? Iskandar stated he was watching Brooklyn House.

Iskandar, of course, was the only one who remained calm as he gestured me forward. "He is one of three that had witnessed Jabari's _exact_ orders. The first to pull away from said orders as well; he's a well suited witness to this I trust."

The worst of all happened to be Jabari himself, eye's narrowing as I hesitated to take one step closer, wary of my father's own death glare. "Chief Lector," Vlad spoke quickly in protest, "they are of blood relation, it is obvious what stance his runt will take."

Michel immediately glared at the Russian standing beside him, which Vlad simply brushed off. "Before he spreads his poison," my father's voice spoke with so much disdain, "I feel it is my responsibility to point out his treason to the Per Ankh."

"Oh, _his_ treason?" Vlad rolled his eyes to the mere thought.

"He is a minor, anything he does that's considered treason belongs to your fault, Jabari." Michel quickly spat out. "And so help me, you speak another word I will punch you so that your nose is on the back of your skull."

Iskandar slammed his staff against the bottom stair, silencing everyone as he stood up now, eyes on me. "Be honest, Amos, so that we can rectify your father's wrongs."


	9. Set Comes Back to Help

**This was the first scene I wrote up to lead towards Set coming back to help Amos. Amos just came home to find the mess Setne and Torsten have been making while he had been gone.**

* * *

-Amos Kane-

_What are you doing?_

I froze as I took in the sha peering back at me. I didn't need this too; I had enough of being the cause of problems. Besides, _he_ wasn't supposed to make contact.

_You're walking away? Do you not see how badly you are needed right now?_ The sha took a step towards me, head cocked to the right as its black eyes kept locked on me.

"All I will succeed in doing is fucking everything up," I snarled, hands clenching into fists.

_And running away will just make everything solve itself?_

I had enough. I didn't need this, not from him at the very least. I forced a tree to fall, making the sha yelp in surprise before backing up before it could land on him.

_Don't hide behind a fight, Kane._ The sha was now growling, those black eyes shining in irritation. _You need to go back, and you know it._

Another tree, he moved swiftly and without much noise, expecting I'd do it again. "Why don't you just slip back into the Duat?" I snapped. "We're not supposed to talk to each other anymore, or did you forget that?"

_I'd rather not,_ the sha looked ready to launch at me if necessary. _Doing that will just let you think you can get away with it too._

I snarled, sending a burst of lightening at one of the fallen trees, setting it aflame. Set hadn't even flinched, keeping all four feet strictly to the earth beneath his paws, forked tail erect in agitation. _You'll have to do more than that to get rid of me._

I have not the slightest clue what had overcome me. So much rage poured out of me in the form of spells to the point that all I could see was the red streak of chaos.

Who did he think he was to talk down to me? He's no saint himself; the depiction of red practically states the bloodshed on his hands. What made him think he could instruct me anyways? The bastard tried that before, and all it led to was a constant fight up to the Red Pyramid. No, I wasn't going to take a lecture from the God of Chaos any time soon.

Unfortunately, I quickly found myself panting for air; hands gripped my staff as I kneeled. He could kill me now if he wants to, and I wouldn't be able to halt it. Another fuck up on my part.

I should have been there when the mansion was ambushed. I should have been the one to protect Carter. _I_ should have done something about Torsten! And Setne! All I did do was screw with everything, almost destroyed the past I knew to walk into the twister of hell I had made here due to my absence.

"I can't do this…" I could hear myself whisper out.

Ashamed, I lowered my eyes to the ground, allowing my hair to envelop my face. I didn't want to see Set kill me for my final moments, and it sounded extremely selfish.

_You know better_, his voice scorned.

I wanted to scream at him. He has no idea. He hadn't been there to see how badly I had screwed everything up this go around!

And Thoth… I felt so used now it wasn't even funny. He only intended to train me for a chance to change things as Set's host. How is it that it took me this long to figure that out?

"Amos," his hot breath practically suffocated my supply of oxygen before I found myself face to face with black orbs surrounded in crimson fur. "You seem to have forgotten that I know you."

I wanted to shrink away, but I kept frozen as if his eyes held such a power. "You only accept defeat when the option is the chance of only you dying. Running away is nowhere installed into you."

I choked in response, watching as the sha promptly sat on its hind legs, still peering right at me with its red square-ears still perked up. "You refused to accept Julius' exile. You did the best you could to warn Michel of Vlad _despite_ the threats he was making towards you. You single-handedly protected Ruby from execution and threw your old man off his high horse. _You even fought me in an attempt to protect Carter and Sadie!_"

"You were bred as a fighter, and that is what you will remain, Amos Kane. Running away will be your ultimate downfall. You couldn't possibly live with yourself knowing you gave up."

Those ears folded to his head, eyes suddenly verging into fear. "Like I can't stand by and let you destroy yourself."

My hands slipped from my staff, allowing it to land with a thump to the ground between us. I didn't know what to think, or say, or even do. I just watched as he lowered his head slightly, like a dog admitting guilt and pleading for forgiveness.

"What? You're not going to laugh at me?" Set seemed to whimper out.

It took me a moment to realize why he was acting like this.

Set is known, _widely_, to not give a damn about his hosts. To him, they are just better toys than demons are, mainly because humans give a bigger challenge compared to said chaos minions. Set merely accepted me as his host a second go-around because it meant he could fight off Apophis again, something he probably couldn't have gotten a better seat for. For some reason we had kept it going, right up until Mount Olympus, when he decided to cut off all contact to save me.

He decided to tell his family to fuck off and come help me.

Before I could process it, I started to cry, but my eyes refused to leave his gaze. Why me? I wasn't special. Just some Per Ankh kid who managed to do a decent job in Statuary. I'm not Pharaoh, so it clearly wasn't a chance at power. Why the hell would this typically evil deity spend so much time on me when my time as his Eye has long passed?

A high-pitched whine escaped him, eyes looking even more pathetic. "I would have preferred you laughed…"

I wanted to ask why, but I feared I'd tear up even more. Instead, I just closed my eyes, like a sad attempt to ignore the god before me. I preferred he had stuck to his deal and left me alone.

He had no intention of letting me forget him being there. I opened my eyes to his paw touching my right arm, eyes still asking for forgiveness it seemed. "I spent most of my life killing my family that I forgot who I once was. _You_ are special because you remind me of my old self. You refused to follow the others, you chose to stay loyal and fight alongside your family rather than against. I missed that. I didn't know until you."

He lowered his paw back to being in front of him, lowering his head so that he was now peering up at me. "_That's_ why I cannot allow the madness of chaos to take you."

Those last words set it off, and I soon realized I had a grip of crimson fur in my arms. The sha had tensed in alarm but seemed to quickly relax, resting his head on my shoulders as I cried into his. Once I actually managed to catch up with what I was doing, I almost went about halting it… almost.

I'm certain he already knew. He taught me that searching for larger taps of energy was a poor move, that I should just focus on training myself to get better. Set helped me keep my ground to Apophis, where otherwise I probably would have reacted like a scared puppy.

On the other hand, he's a bastard still. He happens to have a sick fascination with ripping open old wounds and watching them bleed. And making it known when he is full-out bored, which is usually every time I go to focus on something to better myself. And he _still_ found a way to make me cry; though this time he seemed genuinely hurt to see it.

I managed to remove my arms. His ears and tail were erect again, eyes seeming to have edge more towards a happier mood than a minute ago. "You done now? I don't think I can keep shoving an emotional brat around anymore."

I noted his fur was a mess now. My grip must have been tighter than I thought. "Don't mind me," he rolled his eyes as he went to settle some of it back. "We do need to go back, however. The Pharaoh needs his Chief Lector."


	10. Julius Comforts His Brother

**This is one of the rare times that Amos would let Julius help him calm down.**

* * *

-Julius Kane-

I entered the Great Room tiredly to find my brother wide-awake, a little surprised to see me up. What grabbed my attention was not the coffee in his hands, but how his left arm was pressed intentionally against his chest. He was a mess otherwise, eyes barely focusing as he tried to ease off the panicked breathing.

Perhaps I was quick on the jump, but I immediately puzzled out that it has something to do with the sword wound he received roughly a year and a half ago. Amos and I never talked about it; I figured he'd get mad if I mentioned it again. Half-panicked myself, I went to kneel to his left, placing my right hand gently on his knee. "It's okay," I managed to whisper out.

He closed his eyes, decreasing the speed of his breathing a little. Silence remained between us for two minutes, he managed to finally ease his breathing to normal, but he was still shaking. I hesitated to ask, but this was bugging me even more as I recalled my worry from a year ago. "Amos, is this the first time?"

A shaky breath, his eyes managed to clear a little as he peered into mine. "I didn't want to worry you."

My eyes saddened, noting that I was a fool to practically forget about it. It didn't help that he went out of his way to hide it too. Even worse, the blurry image of the mess he was went about haunting me again. "Does anyone else know?" I could hear my voice threatening to break.

He shook his head, lowering his gaze to the point that his hair was curtaining his face from me. I could vividly hear my pulse in my ears. I wasn't even sure how I should feel to this. Should I be angry that he refused to tell anyone? I didn't necessarily feel that emotion, I was more torn up than anything. Pissed at myself for letting it go so easily.

"It's getting worse," Amos spoke up after another minute of silence between us. "I thought I would get used to it after a while."

My eyes widened a little more to this news. "What do you mean it's getting worse?"

"I used to just apply pressure with my arm, managed to ease it off knowing it was fake. It progressed to the point that I have to drink something to help." He paused to sigh.

"Now that doesn't even work?" I noted the empty mug in his right hand.

He shuddered for a second; I then noticed that he seemed to be huddling into himself. To make sure it's what I figured rather than just trauma, I gently applied the back of my hand to his forehead, finding him to be even colder than the room. I frowned as he recognized the heat difference himself, pulling back a little.

I stood up and went into the closet a little ways out of the Great Room. Finding one of the shorter but heavier blankets, I returned and promptly covered him in it. Another shudder as he went about adjusting the blanket better.

It was snowing that day. I frowned as I noticed how easily I could take in the details again. Perhaps this isn't just a random spasm? A nightmare maybe? He has been rather insomniac recently, possibly avoiding this.

I slowly sat beside him; worried he'd get frustrated and yell at me about not having to worry. The blanket shifted against my right arm, immediately followed by Amos gently resting his head against my shoulder. So yeah, I was surprised for a moment, but quickly followed by a sense of understanding.

He shuddered again, but I remained at peace to his deep breathing. It's more music to my ears than the pained gasps and afflicted expressions he once emanated. The next thing I knew, Kyra cleared her throat as she shot me a curious look. Not one of teasing, most certainly worried though. "Everything alright?" She cautiously asked.

I shifted my arm a little, earning a tired moan as Amos adjusted. "Uh, yeah," I wasn't sure where I was going with this. "He was just tired, didn't sleep last night."

Kyra's expression loosened a bit, an understanding look in her green eyes. "He's been doing that a lot."

Silence between us for a minute. I was beginning to feel awkward having my little brother sleeping against me with my cousin watching. We usually don't allow ourselves to get this close, and to be displaying it like this seemed almost wrong. I didn't care much for it though, Amos seemed like he needed me to get some stability right now.

"Coffee?" Kyra offered, apparently deciding she had enough absorbing of the scene.

"Actually, think I'm going to take a nap too," I shrugged to the question in her eyes before she left for the veranda.

For a moment, I felt horrible for Kyra. She's an only child, and seeing this probably made things worse. I wish we could be as close as we used to be before work. Or that she at least had someone to talk to that would understand her at our level. Maybe Mom has been taking the extra step just for her? They happen to get a lot of time to themselves here; it wouldn't be too hard to believe.

I peered over to find Amos completely out of it, and I didn't want to ruin it by removing myself. I closed my eyes and allowed myself back to sleep.


	11. Bleeding Out Chaos

**Chapter 66 of Time Swap, Julius confronted his brother on cutting himself while he had been in the First Nome to recover from possession. This is the rough draft I had written up a few years ago. It could use some more work, but for now I'll just toss it in. Maybe one day I'll return to this with a more canon approach.**

**Again, if you feel inspired by any of this, go ahead and use. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

-Amos Kane-

I flinched to the color before me. Yeah, things were still kind of messed up in my head. The healers attending the poor magician in the infirmary glared at me as I just bowed my head and immediately left. "What the hell is wrong with him?" One snapped as I closed the door behind me.

Michel must have known, that's why he refused to put me there. Or maybe he believed the injured magicians would gang up on me. Whatever the case, it turns out I can't even control the haunting color from earning an easy reaction of horror. Or fire for that matter.

I eased a breath and forced myself to walk into my room. Being the next in line for Chief Lector, Michel easily handed me the room to the right of the Hall of Ages. It was originally for that purpose, so the advisor of the Chief Lector can be around a majority of the time. Though I didn't plan to officially move in. Oh no, too many memories here as well.

I locked the door and took in the bare desk in the middle of the first room. Bare because there was no chance in hell Michel was going to hand me work apparently. No, instead he handed it to the next, Vladimir. And Vlad wasn't pissed off, rather he was overjoyed.

I entered the living portion of the room. That happens to be a bedroom and a small bathroom linked to the office. Trust me; it's actually a luxury in this Nome to even have a room to yourself.

In all actuality, Menshikov should have this room. He is the advisor for Desjardins; I don't plan on taking that kind of work into my hands. Hell, I would love to just yank myself below Vlad so I don't have to even deal with the thought of 'what if Michel dies'.

Then the thought of Vlad's words earlier kicked in again. No, I'm not even angry, why should I be? He was speaking the truth. I fucking let the god influence me. Michel disregarded his words quickly, but can he really be so blind?

_"Perhaps his father knew in the first place, Desjardins. A servant of Isfet is bad blood, a disgrace to his family of loyal servants of Ma'at."_

Bad blood… Just so happens that blood is different shades of red even. Fuck, more of that plaguing color. I slowly sat on the edge of the bed, fingers fumbling with each other as I tried to brush it off.

_Maybe there's a way to redeem it all._ I caught myself thinking of the razor again. It moved last night from the bathroom to the end table's drawer. I had managed to stop myself, but gods the thought was tantalizing.

"It won't matter, Amos. Everyone's blood is red, just deal with it." I talked myself down, trying to force the impulse to yank the drawer open away.

But I should have known, everything else just poured in again. The destruction to the plane, how many people had I killed with that? Allowed Set to just manipulate me in the first place, letting his words poison me. Thoughts of complete envy towards Carter. There were images of hurting Sadie while she was unconscious. Killing Desjardins, Carter, Sadie, Zia, and Julius.

The small knob I gripped harshly with my right hand, my left digging the small metal blade out before I slammed the drawer closed. I breathed, taking in the image of it again. The image of what I caught myself attempting. Hands trembling, I transferred the blade to my right hand.

"What the hell have I become?" I complained, desperately telling myself this was wrong on multiple levels.

But it needs to go. I lightly let the blade trace my left wrist, not lacerating but letting me mentally know how cold it is. _The bad blood has to go._

I dug it in, teeth clenched the first second to the contact as the color answered, coursing out from around the blade as I made one slit across. The small bite of pain became easily tolerable as I approved of the bleeding. Maybe I can drain it all from myself.

I moved the blade up a little, forming a new slash just below the first. "Carter and Sadie, I'm _so_ sorry." I wept out as I lifted the razor again, taking in both bleeding in a pulsing rate.

A third one, just below Sadie. "Forgive me Kyra, for the thought to kill you crossed my mind as well."

Fourth, "Zia, I don't know you, but I'll bleed those thoughts of strangling you out as well."

"Michel, I never wanted to consider you an enemy."

"Julius, I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry I hated you for your actions."

Number seven was just a little above my elbow, and I made it deeper than the rest. I dedicated that to the innocents on the plane.

I paused, taking in how light headed I was starting to get. Maybe it was working; I didn't feel as hassled anymore. I watched them bleed, running off of my arm onto the stone floor.

I shifted the razor to my left hand now, which was weird for my wrist felt numb and didn't seem to respond too well. Two new ones across the right, watching them bleed out the atrocious shade running through me. "Mother, father, I'm truly sorry I didn't become more like Julius."

And then his black eyes took over my vision, avaricious smile playing on his lips. Three more, "Deplete, God of Chaos. I don't need this anymore; you've made a lethal wasteland of my body."

Then she showed up, red completely staining her as her eyes regarded me with empathy. I caught myself weeping now, remembering it all again. I adjusted the blade, ready to follow the vein instead of cross it. "Caroline, don't cry for me, I couldn't even save you."

The blade dragged the chaos withdrawing from the others as I made it to the last, lifting the razor. I was still crying, tears starting to mix with the tainted blood. A moment passed and the razor dropped to the floor, landing in a puddle of blood staining the floor.

My eyelids grew extremely heavy, the room spinning as the blood continued to drain out. _Shit Amos, you just killed yourself!_

Maybe that's how it should be.

* * *

-Michel Desjardins-

He hadn't entered to pay the usual visits. Not one. There was always something he caught as distributive; almost everything he saw now had a relation to Isfet. _Maybe he's starting to come around mentally._

Vladimir entered at around midnight. "Hmm, where is our little godling?" He mocked.

My eyes narrowed, which he simply didn't care to take his insult back. "Calling it a night soon, Chief Lector?" Vlad moved on.

"Yes, it's been a rather long day." I stood up now, deciding to not linger on Vlad's smears towards Kane. "I think I'll wrap the day up with a visit to Kane's room."

Vlad's hands clenched in reaction. "Desjardins, he may have set a trap for you in there by now-"

"Your thinking is rather paranoid, Menshikov." I snarled, allowing my disgust roll off my tongue. "Do you not understand? Kane and I are on close terms. If I had it my way, I would treat him more like a son."

"Yet he doesn't think the same of you." Vlad snarled. "Just because you feel that way doesn't mean he does, Michel."

I sighed, regarding his words with a nod. "Yes, well, you should call it a night as well Menshikov. I will see you in the morning."

He took the hint and left, leaving me to worry as I finally headed down the hall myself. Why hadn't he at least dropped by? Was he hiding in the library again? I smiled to the thought, I would rather he was burying himself in books again than see the apprehensive look in his eyes.

I checked the room first, knocking on the door. No response, so I unlocked it and entered the office portion. "Kane, you in here?"

No answer, so I turned to leave. As I went to close the door again, something shattered from the room. I watched the door for a few seconds, waiting to see if he was getting the door or not. "Amos?" I stepped back into the office.

Nothing again, fear surfaced as I quickly approached the door. Opening it, I peered around to take in the room with just my head peeked out. It seemed normal, until my eyes landed on the bed. Crimson defiled the floor, glass from the fragmented lantern scattered the floor. But I didn't care so much about the mess.

His head was pressed against the wall, curled between the wall and the bed. Unconscious, but I could tell from my distance that his pulse was sprinting. Blood gushing from his arms, varnishing him in the hue that has been chasing him.

"Kane," I immediately rushed in, kneeling as I gently raised his head from the wall.

He didn't react, but his lower jaw was moving ferociously to his respiring. "What the hell made you think of this?" I discovered myself crying, seeing the slits he made.

Then it hit like a tidal wave. He probably thought of it as cleansing himself. "You moron," I hissed as I managed to get him to sit against the wall.

* * *

-Amos Kane-

The sound of snoring awoke me. The darkness slowly transitioned into a lit room, and then I realized my eyelids were actually lifting the darkness. It took me a moment to gather that my head wasn't spinning anymore, though my arms felt stiff as I caught myself staring at the ceiling.

More rough snoring from ahead of me. I finally pieced out I was laying on the bed. After a moment, I sat up, arms not really collaborating. I blankly took in the tight dressings covering them, the surge of blood coming back to me.

I looked up from my arms to find Michel to be the source of the snoring, sitting in a rocking chair across the room. Actually, I wasn't even in my room anymore. Or the infirmary. So that left a few other places, one being the Chief Lector's room.

I slowly turned, placing my covered feet on the floor. I guess no one was willing to take my shoes off even, too worried about my selfish act. I inhaled deeply before attempting to stand. Attempting because once I managed it for a second, I immediately collapsed to my vision blurring, head spinning.

My head struck something, pounding until I discovered I was now lying on the floor. The snoring stopped and I found myself being carried, placed on the bed again. I blinked excruciatingly until I took in Michel's eyes looking down at me. Oh great, I woke him up.

He pulled the rocking chair to the right side of the bed now, promptly sitting on it again. "How about you just sleep until you can actually walk?" Michel muttered as if he didn't think I could hear him.

Then it hit, he must have found me. I caught myself feeling extreme fault, not wanting to put such an inconvenience on anyone. Yet here I was, trying to bleed myself dry and causing the Chief Lector to catch up on his sleep in the rocking chair.

"I'm so sorry…" I cried out, wondering if he could even hear my words because they sounded fairly quiet to me.

He did, shooting me an empathetic smile. "If picking up a friend from the floor is the absolute worst thing for me to put up with, I would be the happiest man alive."

I suppose that's true, but it didn't help me feel any better about the situation. "I didn't mean it, I told myself it was reckless-" I started to explain.

"Amos, I get it." Michel gave me a reassuring look in his eyes. "It isn't really your fault entirely. You gave out signs and I simply shrugged it off. I won't be doing that again."

This was turning into a rather weird situation now. Almost as if he was looking down on me again. I usually brushed it off as him being older and above me in rank. But now it felt like he was sheltering me.

He hadn't drifted back to sleep yet, apparently the fact that I hadn't yet made him stay awake too. "You know you can talk to me, you _don't_ have to suppress it to yourself." Michel encouraged slowly. "Just spill what's bothering you so much. Talking it to death's door is the best way to recovery."

I let out a weak laugh, not sure if leaking my problems onto him was the wisest decision. In fact, we just kept in silence, both of our eyes seeming to drift into our thoughts. "I've been wondering, did you intend to use storm magic that day?" Michel suddenly asked.

"Uh, yeah…" I smiled to the thought. "Though that's pretty much the reason why I almost died from the experience. He made me use my own magic reserve for those flares."

"And the kids _still_ didn't catch on?" Michel rolled his eyes.

"Zia did."

"That's because she saw you when you tried to kill us on the plane." Michel confirmed.

I shivered to the reminder. He suddenly extended his right hand, trying to be reassuring as he placed it on my upper right arm. I swallowed, telling myself I was being pitiful acting like this. Turning to the Chief Lector for emotional help. He has other concerns, he can't get hung up on what I'm doing.


End file.
